LOST RELATIVES

These enamels are A5 in size.

Still working on the Lost Relatives.

Although this lovely image is of my maternal grandmother and grandfather, so not exactly lost, but what a fabulous holiday snap.

ENAMEL EXPERIMENTS

I am working on a set of labels based on The Lost Relatives theme.

But I find myself experimenting more and more with the juxtaposition of text and imagery.

These people, above and below I found tucked away in my fathers photograph album. An album I have known all my life, but I have not come across these relatives until now.

Who are these little girls?

Who is this woman...some relation, but that information is now lost.

The enamels may look quickly put together,

but I spend a great deal of time planning in my sketch books.

This is my teenage mother, who is now in her 90s...but don't worry, she is not lost.

GALLERY DELIVERY

Yesterday I dropped off a selection of collagraph work to the gallery Forge 2 for an exhibition opening on 30th March.

Debbie McCullough and Chris Wiggins have a gem of a gallery in Culworth, situated a few miles from Banbury on the way to Northampton. In their collection are many well known artist makers and is well worth checking out. www.forge2.org.uk for more details.

I will be at the gallery demonstrating collagraph on 25th May.

BRITISH SOCIETY OF ENAMEL

I have been made a New Graduate member of the British Society of Enamel. As part of this award I have received a materials bursary and been featured in their online magazine.

Go to http://www.enamellers.org/magazine.html to read the article. Thankyou to Pat Johnson for all her hard work putting the article together and the BSOE for the bursary.

CONTEMPORARY VITREOUS ENAMEL

I have been experimenting with enamel again while exploring the theme of Lost Relatives.

The label shape gives me a sense of freedom, I feel like I am making samples not pictures.

If one goes wrong I have not wasted a huge amount of time or materials, so I take more risks.

These pieces are all on enamel grade steel using a combination of wet and sifted enamels, digital and screen printed transfers, with bits and bobs sewn on.

PUTTING MY FACE ON

What a difference a couple of days can make, faces, wings crowns and shoes are on,

all I have to do now is attach the legs and pins.

In between all this brooch related activity I have been preparing my substrates for a new project. The lovely man who looks after my 2CV allowed me into his workshop yesterday to cut metal on his guillotine

and use his metal roller to shape these cow parsley sections...all for the price of a lemon drizzle cake.

How many of you hear me shout, 'I will never make jewellery', I do make the odd set of earrings for personal consumption and nothing is more odd than this pair of surreal inspired drops.

 

There has to be fun, in fact it is all fun!!

A FEW FINISHED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.

Ladies and gentlemen should be said in your head with a Franky Howard voice.

If Monty Python made brooches they would look like this...I hope!