Some images are so appealing you can’t stop working with them. This is what happened to Heide Mearns when she was looking at a flower design for her next project. Heide had a photo of a little blue flower on her iPad Mini she wanted to use for a bracelet focal piece. We had a…
After last week’s workshop with patinas I decided to experiment a little more with the Jel Flux technique, it is so much fun to do and I love the results! First I used it on a piece that had been sitting on my bench for a while. This was the blown up version of one of…
Copper is a favorite in my workshops. It’s a versatile metal, beautiful just as it is, but extending the colour range with different patinas creates even more possibilities.
No Limits! A few weeks ago Helga van Leipsig posted something on her blog that really got me thinking…… Her ‘Intention Word’ for this year is: ‘Playfulness’ and knowing Helga, there will be some interesting results to come from it! Can’t wait to see! So…. what should my word be? With my usual New Year’s…
You know how ‘they’ will tell you not to spend to much time on Facebook etc? Well, let me tell you it is not always a waste of time! I’ve got to know some amazing people and had some interesting conversations, even though I’ve never met them in person…. yet… One of these people I…
We’ve been having a lot of fun over the past few months, mainly opaque enamels on copper. This is as close as you can get to ‘Instant Gratification’ simple shapes and a willingness to play by the students, made for the most enjoyable series of classes for all of us! I love all kinds of…
Yesterday I came across the beautiful & delicate work of Diem Chau. Diem works in a variety of media – but stays true to ‘Tiny Things’ across all of these, her beautiful little carvings on top of a pencil, carved Crayolas and the beautiful lines on her porcelain pieces. Her show at Milan’s Galleria Patricia…
This week I wanted a slightly different, softer color palette. Enamels can be any color, too many to choose from! Pinks are in the more expensive range of enamels, and they can be a problem if you’re working on silver. Using a layer of flux underneath these colors can help there. I think it’s…
Week 2 This week’s class focussed on stencilled enamels. We used all kind of stencils, from hand-cut paper, pierced metal, to found objects. More work got done this week and there was a great spirit of adventure and experimentation all night! I’m not sure I should get paid to teach this class, it is way…
My love for enamelling is greater in winter than it is in summer. Copper enamelling is the focus of this class, great things can come out of working with inexpensive materials and a commitment to experiment. Copper and Opaque enamels are fun, can be very colourful, or muted, the thing is to just play and see what comes out, then plan ahead and use what you’ve done in a more ‘designed’ piece.