BSOE news: AJ Wells Workshop

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.

The 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!)

Large Kiln

Spray Booth

Screen printing 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.

Photo: Rebecca Gouldson

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.

Photo: Gill Ledsham

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.

Display of work by Kate Samules

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).

More IMAGES OF STUDENT WORK