2009 Goldsmiths' Fair & Origin - Review

By Melissa Rigby

GOLDSMITHS' FAIR

The two week long Goldsmith’s Fair, at the Goldsmiths' Hall in London (28th September – 11th October) had more enamellers exhibiting this year than possibly ever before.

Vladimir Bohm was exhibiting his understated hand-raised silver dishes, many of which were oxidised black. Sadly, he told me that he rarely uses enamel any more as his customers do not understand or appreciate the skill involved. Vladimir displayed a single red enamelled dish as a colourful contrast to his pure silver and blackened pieces.

Rachel Gogerly was exhibiting her highly polished basse taille engraved and engine-turned small work and jewellery. She reported her ‘best show ever’, despite the recession

Fred Rich had some beautiful new work; silver vases, hand engraved/textured all over with enamel confined to a few dragonfly motifs scattered randomly over the surface. The most pleasing of these had fine silver enamelled dragonflies applied to a Britannia silver vase, with delicate basse taille engraving and gold cloisonné wires. These recent pieces have a restraint that is a welcome contrast to his more usual flamboyantly designed and coloured designs.

Rachel Emmerson displayed a range of jewellery using her characteristic basse taille engraving and clear enamel colours. She also had a new collection of bespoke enamel bangles and gold rings with opaque white and turquoise enamel bands.

New full member Regina Aradesian was showing her ever expanding range of plique-a-jour silver jewellery. In her bespoke pieces she now combines coloured precious stones to compliment her kaleidoscope enamel colours.

Harriet St Leger was exhibiting for the first time this year. A member of the Guild, her botanically inspired work is characterised by richly coloured layers of opaque enamels with sgraffito decoration. Liana Pattihis was also a first time exhibitor. Her bold experimental brooches and necklaces crafted from layers of sifted red enamel fused onto lengths of silver chain and copper mesh, made a strong contemporary statement and refreshing contrast to the more traditional techniques seen on the other stands.

Scottish jeweller Grace Girvan was showing her understated silver and enamel jewellery, combining stoned back soft transparent enamel colours with stone beach pebbles and wood. The simplicity of these pieces are in stark contrast to the richly coloured work of fellow Scottish jeweller Sheila McDonald, who was exhibiting a vibrant collection of jewellery and small work, with characteristic use of gold and silver leaf and semi-precious gemstones.

Alexandra Raphael had an interesting new range of 3D faceted brooches set with large geometrically shaped gem-stones. These pieces displayed her characteristic style
of cloisonné enamelling, but the fabrication of her work showed a new level of technical achievement.

Alexandra Raphael
Brooch “within the stone” series, silver, gold cloisonné, gold foils, aquamarine.
4 x 4.5cm

Technical virtuosity is also a hallmark of first time exhibitor Jenny Edge, whose highly polished syn- and anticlastic silver tableware and sculpture are extraordinary tour de forces, especially when you learn that she makes them entirely herself: she does all the hand raising, tig welding, engraving, enamelling and polishing. An extraordinary feat when you consider the complexities involved in making such large sinuous and convoluted forms.

Jenny Edge: Sterling silver and enamel sculpture on ebony base, 20cm wide

Tamar de Vries Winter has recently been experimenting with fusing photographic images in the form of enamel transfers onto her jewellery and silverware. As first seen in the Playing with Fire exhibition, she has developed her use of tree branch images, and has been using sections of these over coloured enamels as a new decorative technique.

Joan MacKarell displayed a characteristically colourful collection of enamelled bead and stone necklaces and other jewellery. She had some particularly beautiful basse taille engraved brooches with ancient Egyptian bird motifs, which were snapped up by private collectors.

Joan MacKarell: Duck brooch, silver, 18c gold 40 x 50 mm

ORIGIN

Origin, the contemporary craft fair hosted by the Crafts Council at Somerset House (6th -18th October) had, as you would expect, a very different collection of enamellers exhibiting (although Grace Girvan exhibited at both Goldsmith’s and Origin), with some recent graduates using enamel in a very simple, elemental way. One of these was the Korean jeweller Sangeun Kim, who uses recycled mild steel and stainless steel mesh to make geometric architecture inspired pieces with a dusting of enamel on them.

Sangeun Kim: brooch 3.5 x 4.5 x 2.5cm
Recycled steel, stainless steel, enamel, magnet 2008

Jeweller Maya Selway also used sifted enamel in her work, confining herself to just black and white opaque colours with an uneven surface texture on simple silver disc stud earrings and small round vessels. Simple convex circles also characterise the very commercial work of Rachel Llewellyn, who uses single transparent colours in various shades of blue on her multiple silver disc jewellery.

Kathryn Partington used white enamel to print decorative lacey patterns onto some of her pieces. And recent graduate Leila Arzaghi had a few enamel pieces amongst her collection of mixed media jewellery based on memory. These were beautifully delicate brooches incorporating old photographs as enamel transfers. These can be seen on her website: www.leilaarzaghi.com

Jane Moore, a master of enamel transfers, exhibited a lovely display of her oxidised silver and enamel jewellery, with a new collection using black transfer designs over transparent colours.

Sally Grant: Oxidised silver and enamel necklace

Scottish jeweller Sally Grant displayed a strong range of jewellery using her plant photographs in etched and printed designs combined with single colours of enamel. New full member Janine Partington also uses nature as inspiration for her work. She was exhibiting for the first time, and had a significant display of large and small wall panels, as well as free-standing enamelled tree sculptures, which had been water jet cut from steel.

AJ Wells Workshop

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Report by Carol Griffin

During a warm and sunny week in September 2009, AJ Wells & Sons hosted a large scale enamel workshop at their purpose built factory on the Isle of Wight. Pat Johnson led the workshop, and I acted as facilitator/organiser for all involved.
This event has been nearly a year in the planning. It was a first for AJ Wells, working with so many artists all at once, and a new development for workshops run by the Guild and BSOE.
Eight students applied and were accepted onto the workshop. These were a mixture of Guild, BSOE, and non-members, who had either been told about the workshop by a Guild or BSOE member, or had seen it announced on one of the websites. Most had enamelled before, but a few hadn’t.

Accommodation was found in Ryde, where everyone stayed at the same house. Laura Boswell came over Sunday afternoon to give us a presentation of her work on the Aylesbury Project, produced at AJ Wells earlier this year. This also gave our students an opportunity to ask Laura questions concerning large scale commissions, working at AJ Wells, and how she coped producing 6 very large enamelled panels by hand, every day for over 2 months!
Transport was arranged to give everyone a lift to the factory at Newport each day. Breakfast and a self-serve packed lunch were provided for within the cost of the workshop, (as there was no canteen at the factory).

The real work started on Monday. Having arrived at AJ Wells just after 8.30, the students were taken on a tour of the factory. I thought we’d lost them! All found the experience fascinating, seeing how large and small panels are batch produced within a factory environment, and getting their first glimpse of the very large furnaces (the size of a small room!)

After that exciting start, Pat showed the students some examples of her own work, and then demonstrated several techniques for using the spray gun in a spray booth. With the use of a small test kiln in the studio space, which proved invaluable, not only was everyone able to experiment with combining the three types of enamels – liquid, lead-bearing ground enamel, and enamel inks – the small kiln also ensured that no time was lost while large scale work was drying or being fired. By combining the three types of enamelling, some ground-breaking pieces were produced during the course of the workshop.

Each student had pre-ordered individual steel panels to work on during the week, at an additional cost to the workshop fee. Included in the fee was a test panel, and AJ Wells also supplied extra test plates throughout the week for further testing. All steel was costed to cover liquid enamel and several firings. Enamel inks were also supplied for use as an additional technique - this did not include silk screen printing, although some students did use the inks with riso screens.

The studio where the students were based was ideal - spacious, well lit and big enough for each student to have a large table and work area. Also in the room were tables set out with tools, equipment and materials, which included a range of liquid enamels and enamel inks. This studio was a hive of activity all week, with panels being worked on and then taken downstairs on large trolleys, to be sprayed or fired. The students worked independently but everyone shared tips and problems with the rest of the group, encouraging each other along the way.

During the whole time we were at AJ Wells, all the staff were extremely polite, helpful, interested and supportive to what was going on. David Gatrell is the General Manager over the enamelling side of the business and frequently popped in to see how things were progressing. David Knight, our appointed Project Manager was at the end of a phone almost 24/7 and quickly responded to any problems or questions we had. He very kindly allowed Pat and me to set up the workspace on Sunday morning prior to our start on Monday. Towards the end of the week, other employees and senior management visited the studio, and were impressed with the variety and quality of work produced.

An extra bonus for the students was an evening out with David Gatrell, David Knight (an artist and enameller as well as project manager) and Michael Forrest, another artist enameller who works part time at AJ Wells in the print department. Again this allowed the students to ask questions informally to find out more about AJ Wells, how they approach artists, how artists can work within the factory and costs etc. This proved to be a very informative but relaxing evening for all.

Having costed each part of the workshop with AJ Wells, once we were there, the firm were very generous and flexible with use of the spray booth, firings, test plates, and access to their library of liquid enamels and inks. We had full and sole use of the studio space which included a small kitchen, and toilet area, and access to a larger room for eating lunch. For those students who couldn’t carry their work back with them, AJ Wells arranged post and packaging (at the students expense), and bubble wrap was supplied to protect all panels on their journey home.

Based on the evaluation forms, and verbal and emailed comments received from the students, I believe the workshop was very successful. It provided a unique opportunity to work within a modern busy enamel factory and produce work on a different scale, and to use techniques not normally available, as well as the more familiar enamelling processes. Many felt that they could now approach large scale commission work with confidence, knowing what to expect and how to go about it.

A copy of the ‘Student Pack’ is available from the Guild / BSOE secretary, which includes all details about the workshop, accommodation etc. A DVD is also available showing all photos taken throughout the week, by myself and other students on the course. (All students have agreed for their images to be used in the promotion of another similar workshop and on the Guild, BSOE & AJ Wells websites – with acknowledgements where possible).

AJ WELLS Large-scale Enamel Workshop

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Report From Kate Samules

“This joint venture with the Guild of Enamellers and the British Society of Enamellers was a rare and exciting opportunity to experience enamelling on a different scale”

I was fortunate enough to be able to take part in a unique opportunity, A Large Enamel Scale Workshop at the Vitreous glass enamel factory, A J Wells on the Isle of Wight.

I am an enamel artist who is interested in offering a message within my work, which is a response to a site, or exterior location that also signifies and suggests a juxtaposition of enamel as an art form. My work is an exploration of materials and surface decoration. I create vivid collections of experimental and resolved metal forms. I’m intrigued by the transferal of 2D mark making onto metal surfaces. Comprehensive visual research, film and photography are essential elements to the work. The development and attentive interpretations are reflected in my sketchbooks.

This was an ideal opportunity to refine, develop and extend my work. My aim was to produce a large body of work, which has the potential to be exhibited. This was an excellent opportunity to develop my practice through commercial techniques and skills.

The workshop was a group of enamellers from the BSOE and The Guild of Enamellers. Pat Johnson led the techniques and Carol Griffin organized teaching support and the event. We all had different levels of experience of working with enamels. This led to a diverse range of alternative and innovative outcomes.

We all stayed in a large house near to the Factory. I was slightly anxious about sharing a house with complete strangers for a week but everyone was friendly and everything was very organized. Everyone was focused and enthusiastic about the course.

I arrived during the weekend and I was able to gather imagery and record responses from the Isle of the Wight. It is important for me to have a visual reference and focus to work from. I produced a sketchbook and took many photos. I particularly became interested in maps and paths around the island.

On the Sunday evening we had informal presentations of our own work and also got to talk about what we wanted to experience during the week. We had a presentation from Laura Boswell, Printmaker who created a large-scale public enamel piece for Aylesbury bus station. It was really interesting to hear about her experience and have an introduction and overview of working in a factory.

Day 1: We had a tour of factory and met the staff. We were introduced to the different processes and facilities, including the screen-printing, spray booths and kilns. Everyone was very welcoming and friendly.

Pat Johnson demonstrated using the spray gun and the techniques and processes involved and we were able to produce test pieces. We had a dedicated spray booth for the group and a table each within the studio area.

A small kiln was available in our studio area enabling us to be able to test colours and the ink enamels. We were encouraged to be experimental. We set a production system in order to provide a constant firing process of drying and firing. Everyone was quite reserved and timid at the beginning and anxious to start their larger panels.

Day 2: We prepared the panels and continued to experiment and test colors. Everyone felt more confident and focused and were able to start our larger panels!

Day 3: we continued with our own work within the studio space and in the factory workshop. All the staff were very accommodating and always willing to offer advice and guidance. We were able to extend our working hours in order to prepare for the next day, enabling us to create as much work as possible! Time seemed to fly by!

Day 4: Everybody aimed to complete the majority of their panels. We all produced a diverse range of outcomes that explored a range of techniques and individual processes.

Day 5: we all finalized our work and had a mini exhibition of all our work, which was presented to all staff at the factory; it was excellent opportunity to explain work and have feedback from a commercial perspective. I left the factory at lunchtime, exhilarated from a fantastic week and also quite exhausted!


Overall it was fantastic experience. I produced a refined and marketable body of work, which will be part of an exhibition. The factory staff were very intrigued and really interested in our work. It was an excellent opportunity to meet fellow craft and industry enamellers. I experienced a commercial and wider perspective of enamelling as an industry and an art form. I was able to successfully produce large-scale professional looking final outcomes.

I would be really interested in returning to the factory to take part in future workshops.

A J Wells were very accommodating and had excellent facilities. The workshop was professionally organized and truly enjoyable experience.

www.flickr.com/photos/katiesamuels

AJ WELLS Large-scale Enamel Workshop

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Report from Ruth Ball

In September I spent a very industrious and busy week learning about large scale enamelling on a workshop supported by the BSOE and the Guild of Enamellers. The expert tuition was given by Pat Johnson and the workshop was facilitated with excellence by Carol Griffin.

To start the report I must say that the effort and professionalism of the entire workshop was extremely impressive. The facilities and welcome at A J WELLS a leading manufacturer of enamel products and signage, couldn't have been better. The support and encouragement shown by the team there was truly wonderful.

I was one of eight lucky participants and the week long course went very quickly indeed, each day was action packed. At the start of the workshop on the Monday, we were given a full tour of the enamel facilities. Watching the large scale kiln being operated was one of the first sights. The kiln is quite a leap in scale for enamellists normally used to firing jewellery !

The Large Kiln at A J Wells

Artwork for screen printing

Screens

Above and below are typical signage projects undertaken at the factory. The general process in production involves firstly the spraying of ground coats and then base layers. The panels then go through various firings with screen printed images. Photographic imagery can be applied if required and the quality of work produced is very notable.

Signage

Pat Johnson demonstrating spraying techniques.

Our sessions went underway by first observing Pat's demonstrations on how to spray the liquid enamel and a host of techniques were discussed. The amount of possibilities were inspiring.

Test Piece – Ruth Ball

My first test piece explored a variety of effects. The primary skill to try was using the spray gun. The initial layer I sprayed was white over the black ground coat, in which I also made sgraffito marks to get a feel of what sort of drawings I could achieve. The second spraying of enamel was a fine layer of black which was sprayed from the side. This, although it looks greyish fired, and it is not apparent in my photo, the effect gave a slight relief effect to the image. The final layer on this piece was an application of inks, which I loved. I enjoy using painted enamel, and they are similar, so for me they were great to use as I felt familiar with them as a media. I particularly enjoyed the fact that I could layer the effects and the enamel inks had good colour strength.

My first panel started life as a "Rolf Harris" moment...!

Armed with my sketch book I embarked on an adaptation of my winter birch tree sketches.
I decided to keep my process experimental. I had four panels to work on so I planned to learn something with each one. Rather than drawing each tree as you would on paper, I formulated a plan to create a tree "texture" and then I would cover the layer in the sprayed liquid white and sgraffito through an impression of the trees to create a semi abstract piece.

This was effective in terms of continuing with the series of images I have and it was also conducive to the limitations in time and factory processes. The restrictions of each panel we had to work on were such that we were limited to four colours / four firings. Before I attended the workshop I couldn't get my head around how to do this as I normally just keep firing until I'm happy with something ! But planning work in this way is actually quite interesting, and I never actually got to four firings with any of the pieces.

Drawing through the white layer to reveal the previous firing.

Finished Panel - Winter Birches - Forest Series - 40cm x 120cm

In my second panel I chose to explore more drawing and mark making. The ground coat of the enamel is black so I realised that I could exploit this. I also wanted to see if it was possible to combine a range of mark effects with the sgraffito technique in order to make something illustrative.

Images in this panel are referenced from my series of sketches and photos of cityscapes. I am currently interested in transformations within urban landscapes, building sites and reclaimed areas provide a good source of information for visual research. Again, on this panel instead of copying a specific "scene", I made a selection of images and drew them in several sections, visually blending each image together to form an overall picture.

"Urban Surface" - enamel on steel - 60x60cm

This panel never got its subsequent layers. This was it's one and only firing ! Initially I planned to work over the drawing and add slashes of colour and possibly would have developed more in the image. However, apart from the fact it was a more time consuming process than I had hours for, the response from everyone in the workshop was that it was fine as it was ! The less is more approach seemed to be the order of the day !

On starting panel three, I realised a bit of speeding up was needed, by this time I was well into Wednesday and there was only a couple of days left to finish everything. Apart from this I also had brought my collection of riso screens and wondered if they would work with the inks. Although the inks are oil based and the riso screen is water based (therefore once used I'd have to discard them due to the fact I'd not be able to clean the screens up) I resolved that I would at least be able to pull a few images from each screen.

Keeping to my urban theme, and enjoying the black and white look, I varied the effect on the first layer by only using sgraffito in selected areas in order to leave sections free for printing. The photo above shows the panel in the initial stage of the second layer where I have started screening on the prints. In the sgraffito layer I continued the visual effect of drawing at the edge of the piece, something that I'd become involved in the previous panel, as I wanted to put emphasis on a strong graphic approach. Moreover, developing interest on the outer points of the panel provided a quirky focal point. This breaking away from the confines of a format and thinking about the edge of the work is a process I'm starting on other pieces in my urban series, and I was quite pleased with this more stylised effect.

The sgraffito layer is slightly raised and really adds subtlety to the work.

The final piece - Rebuilding - enamel on steel - 60x60cm

My final panel followed the same process, by now I was into the swing of it all and had found a way of working that I could have expanded upon for another week again. This time I wanted colour back, so my second firing was a layer of ink that I sponged on.

The consequent layer was the riso screen printed images, which were applied in true "Blue Peter" fashion. I worked on different areas of the piece, bit by bit, waiting for the ink to dry before applying the next part of the image. It was a bit like building a jigsaw, and rather than use frames with my screens I found that sticking and stretching the screen down with sellotape tape worked adequately ! I managed to add all the printed images in one firing, though if I'd have had more time I might have done it over two or three instead. Printing can also be done "in house" and this a facility I hope to explore more fully in the future.

The final piece - Urban Changes - enamel on steel 60x60cm

This panel was my favourite piece from my week's endeavour. I really felt as though I'd achieved a lot and had discovered many possibilities, though in reality I have only just touched the surface. The potential for working in enamel on a large scale are very exciting. The resulting artworks are ideal for public and corporate commission work as enamel on steel can boast the fact that it is durable, colourfast, hygienic, easy to maintain and is even fireproof up to 800C!

In conclusion, the opportunity to be able to explore the media in a creative workshop setting within the workings of a busy factory was awesome. I reiterate the credit and much thanks which must be given to Pat and Carol for their unbelievable dedication to making the week work so well. The team at A J Wells were equally fantastic. Their generosity in allowing us into their time, space and excellent facilities was overwhelming and nothing was too much trouble. Additional highlights of the event were also really appreciated. An evening meal out for the whole group was a lovely start to the week, and a great bonus was meeting printmaker/enameller Laura Boswell, who gave an illuminating talk on her recent commission for a large enamel artwork sited in Aylesbury Town Centre.

Put simply, the week was just amazing, and a truly valued experience.

I would like to add my deepest thanks to all involved and to the British Society of Enamellers for their generous bursary award that enabled my participation in this event.

23rd International Cloisonne Jewellery Contest - JAPAN

If anyone is interested in learning more about this competition / exhibition please get in touch with Ruth Ball who has a copy of the forms.

The deadline for submissions is the 15th January 2010.
Each artist can submit up to 5 Entries - no fee.
Work is juried by the actual pieces and not slides.

The Exhibition is to be held at the Ueno Royal Museum Tokyo, from 6th - 12th March 2010.

The contest is organised by the Japan Shippo Conference NPO
If you would like to contact them directly their email is jewelrycontest@nifmail.jp

Goldsmiths Craft & Design Awards

The call for entries for the 2009/10 competition has been released.

Please visit the Goldsmith Craft & Design Awards Website for information.

You can download the application from on the site - click here.

ORIGIN

Check Out Week Two of Origin !

The London Craft Fair at Somerset House, London takes place from 13-18 October 2009

(open daily 10-6, open late on Thursday until 9pm - entrance fee £10 on door).

This second week of 150 makers includes the stands of five makers who use enamel as an integral part of their work: Jane Moore, Grace Girvan, Sally Grant, Honeybourne Jewellery and Janine Partington.

To find out more about this great opportunity to see a wide range of their work visit www.craftscouncil.org.uk.

Posted by Janine Partington

SOME LIKE IT HOT

THE OXFORDSHIRE MUSEUM
Fletchers House Park St Woodstock Oxfordshire OX20 1SN

12th September - 17th October 2009

Open: Tuesday - Saturday 10.00am - 5.00pm Sunday 2.00pm - 5.00pm Closed: Mondays

This selling exhibition is an excellent opportunity to discover contemporary enamel in all its diverse and exciting forms and features the work of some of the country’s leading enamellers.

Work on show will include jewellery, boxes, bowls and panels.

Playing With Fire - Update

The tour schedual continues !

The exhibition is now closed at Rhyl Arts Center, however "Playing with Fire" is now touring to :

25 July - 30 August > CRAFT IN THE BAY, Cardiff

5th September - 31 October > BILSTON CRAFT CENTER, Wolverhampton.

Please check the venues for open times and directions.

Ed Silverton - Cactus Display

Beate Gegenwart - Innenraum 2007 (detail)

Kimberly Scott - Urban Diary 2008 ( detail )

Photos: Taken by Ruth Ball at the Rhyl Exhibition

Emerging Enameller Awards

REPORT by Jilly Morris"The Things We Leave Behind" (detail ) 2008

Photo from Playing with Fire - Rhyl Arts Center Exhibition

I would like to thank you for awarding me the prize of 'emerging enameller' at the 'Playing with Fire Exhibition' it is wonderful to receive recognition in my enamel work.

I have recently accepted an artist residency, which takes place in Highgreen in Northumberland from an organisation called VARC. This stands for 'Visual artists in Rural Communities' and is a yearlong residency starting in October 2009. This is an incredible opportunity for me to spend a whole year devoted to my practice in a beautiful remote location with my own studio and remote converted Dovecote apartment, without the pressures of my usual city life in Bristol. In October my nearest shop will be ten miles away in a village called Bellingham and part of the Pennine Way is my front garden. The scenery is rolling moorland that stretches for miles and miles around me. It is a very exciting opportunity to see what remoteness and isolation does for my creative practice and to myself, I am both excited and slightly scarred by the prospect.

I will be taking my kiln to Northumberland and intend to do some experimental enamel work whilst I am there. Part of my residency contract is to initiate activities that include the local community and schools for a seven-week period; therefore I intend to hold enamel workshops regularly for both adults and children. The rest of the time I get to spend solely on my own practice and at the end of the year I have a solo exhibition and a catalogue printed.

My residency includes a very small income, enough to survive on dhal and rice for a year but I will need extra money to help fund materials and other needs. As it is so isolated I will also have to buy a car for the duration of the residency (I usually bicycle around Bristol). Therefore the money that you have awarded me will go towards my experience of my residency, it will either be spent on materials during the year or go towards buying a car that will help me explore my environment. I was reluctant at first to get a car but have been informed it is essential in such an isolated area. I cannot stress what a wonderful opportunity this is for me to spend such time exploring my art, I currently work part-time as a receptionist to help fund me being an artist and this takes so much time away from doing what I really want to do, that of being a fully-fledged artist.

I am currently conducting some research for some large enamel pieces, which I would like to make. As a child I had major heart surgery and as a 'memory' of the major event I am interested in researching into the development of heart surgery. It all sounds rather gory, yet there are fascinating details and incredible old engravings of anatomy that I may use. It all is at a very early stage at the moment. I am also waiting to here from an interview from a new gallery that has opened in Bristol called 'View' in hope that they will want to exhibit my work. I am also facilitating some enamelling workshops at UWE for children aged 14 - 15 and have recently sent some enamel work to Studio Fusion in London.

You can get updates about my work from my website http://www.jillymorris.co.uk/ and the residency details can be found at http://www.varc.org.uk/

Once again many thanks for the award. Jilly

............................................................................

REPORT / letter from Kimberly Scott

Kimberly Scott - Ubran Diary ( detail )

photo from Rhyl Arts center Exhibition

I am delighted to have won the Emerging Maker prize for my piece "An Urban Diary" in the Playing with Fire exhibition.
I plan to put the prize money towards buying a kiln. Unfortunately my financial situation is not ideal for buying one at the moment and, as I work full time, I am not eligible for most of the funding/grants available. However the prize money is in my savings account (hopefully earning interest!) so once I save up the rest I will purchase one.
I sold my piece from Playing with Fire to a private collector in Devon, to be displayed in his home so when I receive the money late 2009/early 2010 this will go towards it. I am noting my new ideas for when I do get a kiln! I was in particular pleased to see the exhibition review in Crafts Magazine.
I really do want to continue developing and improving my enamelling work and to pursue my passion for enamelling. I always feel so at ease when working next to the kiln and I am missing it very much. I am keeping up to date with all the enamelling news (as much as I can!) with what is happening in the enamelling world and checking the BSOE blog regularly.

Kimberly Scott