Message via Sharon Scalise USA.It is with Great Sadness that I send out this news .........
The enameling world has recently suffered the loss of one of its finest craftsmen. Allan B. Heywood Australian enameller, musician, writer, webmaster, Masters Tri-athlete, and resident of Skipton, Victoria, Australia passed away Tuesday 28th September 2010.
Allan is survived by his two children Katherine and Chris. Allan was laid to rest in a characteristically practical, unique, and eco-minded way on October 4th 2010 in Camperdown in Western Victoria, Australia. (Link: Victorian man has first ever upright eco burial at vertical cemetery:
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/victorian-man-has-first-ever-upright-eco-burial-at-vertical-cemetery/story-e6frf7l6-1225934150299 )Allan Heywood’s work his been included in such Exhibitions as the International Exhibition of Enamelling Art, Tokyo JAPAN; International Exhibition of Miniature Art, Toronto CANADA; Guild of Craft Enamellers ENGLAND; Pacific Enamelling Symposium USA; "Focus on Fire" USA; "Kunstverein Coburg" Germany; And numerous Australian exhibitions including the Alice Craft Award, C.C.N.T., National Enamel Exhibition, Sydney; National Craft Acquisition Award, C.C.N.T, Wildlife Art Society of Australasia; and the Australian Society of Miniature Art Among others.
Mr. Heywood has been the recipient of many Awards, including GRAND PRIZE WINNER, Sixth International Exhibition of Miniature Art; 2nd Prize Third International Exhibition of Miniature Art Toronto Canada; Joint Winner P. H. Wolfe Cloisonné Cup Guild of Craft Enamellers England; Winner of the Chairman's Rose Bowl for the Outstanding Exhibit Guild of Craft Enamellers England; 1st prize, open enamelling Special Prize; best metalwork exhibit Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria, Australia; Inaugural C.A.S.C.A.W.P. award for cultural achievement in the visual arts Shire of Hampden Australia; 1st prize decorated metalwork, enamel Ian McIntyre Memorial Award Australian Natives Association Award.
Several of Allan Heywood’s works reside in the collection of the Museums & Art Galleries of the Northern Territory including "Waratah Plate” Alice Craft Acquisition, and "The Miraculous Ascension of Clianthus Formosus" National Craft Acquisition Award, Darwin. And additional works reside in collections in Australia, Bulgaria, West Germany, Spain, France, Italy, England, The Netherlands, Scotland, South Africa, the U.S.A., Japan, Israel and Canada.
Allan B. Heywood was born in 1946 in Melbourne Australia, and he lived for over 20 years in Skipton Victoria, Australia. A full-time enameller he worked chiefly in cloisonné and related techniques, and the repair and restoration of enamelled items, many pieces antique, and historic, many of which has been jewellery.
As a teenager Allan Heywood worked for a small firm of stainless-steel fabricators in Moreland, Victoria, where he learned to work with metal, at collage Allan Studied Applied Chemistry. Allan served with the Royal Australian Engineers in South Vietnam in 1967-68. He also worked in Ford's Melbourne car assembly plant in the Manufacturing Engineering department in process control with respect to paints, sealers, adhesives, abrasives and other non-metallic materials. After 7 years with Ford he left to attend the Australian College of Entertainers. He was also pub-singer/guitarist, musician and a professional entertainer for many years.
Allan said that he came to enamelling by chance, “Some twenty-eight years ago I happened to see a commercial exhibition of Chinese enamels - pieces of all shapes, sizes and colours, mainly cloisonné and plique-a-jour. Part of the display was a small `how-to' vase set showing five major steps in making a Chinese-style cloisonné vase. I was hooked and set out with a naive blend of arrogance and ignorance to make cloisonné and there have been few days since in which enamel hasn't played some part.”
Information selected from Full History Allan Heywood Webpage – History: http://heywoodenamels.com/main/enamel_history.html
Allan Heywood has had a profound influence in the world of enameling through his exceptional original enamel works and his impeccable antique restoration work, as well as by authoring several comprehensive articles on enamelling techniques. As the creator and webmaster of one of the most informative websites about the art of enamelling on the World Wide Web he amassed a wealth of enameling and metal information. Allan helped to connect enamellers the world over by showcasing the works of the many great craftsmen in the field. The eNAMEL Online Newsletter is an online resource, which Allan wrote and produced from July 2001 thru February 2004. It is still available today along with the wonderful “eNAMEL Gallery” and “Useful Stuff”
(Links: eNAMEL Online Newsletter: http://enews.heywoodenamels.com/ - eNAMEL Gallery: http://gallery.heywoodenamels.com/
- Useful Stuff: http://enews.heywoodenamels.com/common/eNAMEL_useful_stuff_01.html )
Allan was very active on several online forums and frequently shared a generous amount of expert information with forum members on enamelling, metalsmithing and the chemicals used in those processes. Besides being an enameller and former musician Allan was also a Masters tri-athlete who enjoyed a level of fitness which defied his years. He claimed a podium finish in the Olympic distance triathlon at the world Masters championship in Geelong 2008-9.
(LINK: Allan Heywood Triathlete: http://www.ballarattriclub.com/ )
In the eNAMEL Online Newsletter Allan Heywood once wrote of expert enamelist (David C. Freda):
“We in the West generally fail to recognise our major artists in any useful sense while they are alive. In a more culturally-developed society David C. Freda would be classed as a "Living National Treasure" and treated accordingly - as would several other individuals who've featured previously in these pages. “Allan Heywood
I would offer that Allan Heywood is himself worthy of the sort of recognition he suggested for other exceptional enamelists who make consistent contributions. “National Treasure” would be a most fitting description for Allan considering his vast contribution to the field of enameling during his MANY years making exceptional original enamel work, and for his expertise in antique enamel repair. As well as for his generous sharing of enameling techniques, and for showcasing the works of so many artisans in field of metalsmithing and enameling on the World Wide Web. Allan Heywood is ONE OF A KIND – And He IS Sorely Missed!
Sharon Scalise
Links:
Victorian man has first ever upright eco burial at vertical cemetery: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/victorian-man-has-first-ever-upright-eco-burial-at-vertical-cemetery/story-e6frf7l6-1225934150299
Triathlete:
http://www.ballarattriclub.com/
Grains Of Glass (website) has added a notification and remembrance for Allan Heywood on their main page: http://grainsofglass.ning.com/
Allan Heywood History – About:
http://heywoodenamels.com/main/enamel_history.html
Allan Heywood - Awards and Honors:
http://heywoodenamels.com/main/enamel_awards_prizes.html
Allan Heywood - Exhibitions:
http://heywoodenamels.com/main/enamel_exhibitions_shows.html
eNAMEL Online Newsletter: http://enews.heywoodenamels.com/