Enameling is no joke! Throughout my sampling process I was continually humbled by the difficulty of getting enamels to fully fuse to their service and flow evenly. However, through this I was able to learn a lot about the mistakes I made, how to fix them and how to just be patient with the process. The more layers of enamel I added to my samples, allowed for the things to naturally come together. Campleve SampleEnamel Samples Using Different Techniques1st things 1st, counter enamel the backs of the pieces. This prevents the metal from warping when enameling the front sides of your piece. This is also the only time you really wanna pickle, to clean off the bare metal on the front. Pickling isn't really needed after this, unless you're dealing with a real bad dirt problem.
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Cleveland jeweler, Ariella Har-Even creates works that explores the link between what she writes as "the archetypal nature of jewelry and the placing of physical objects on the body, which serves as a bridge between the nonphysical self and the physical world." Through this she uses her creations as a way of storytelling. In her series included in the photographs above 'Let Me Count the Ways' the artist uses enamel on copper, fine silver, copper and nickel silver to create broaches that are inspired by 18th and 19th century Lovers Eye jewelry. She uses this source of inspiration to create commentary about the collection and displays of personal connections within the 21st century. Traditionally in Lovers Eye jewelry a loved ones initials are often inscribed on the back on the piece, so in that honor Har-Even includes a unique screen-name that symbolizes each individual broach. In the work shown below 'Altar/Alter' Har-Even creates a funerary mask, inspired by the decorated skeletons found in the Roman catacombs, along with the contemporary modification of the body via plastic surgery. She creates this piece with enamel on copper, gold foil, sterling silver, fine silver, pearls, and false eyelashes. She pokes fun at the inherit nature most of us have to obsess over, alter, and prod out bodies, "praying at the altar of our physicality". You can see more of Ariella's work on her website www.ariellahar-even.com/
French Canadian artist Aurélie Guillaume is a jeweler, enamelist and illustrator. She embraces the longstanding tradition of storytelling that enameling has and creates characters that embody the same emotions, colors and textures that inspired her as a child. I included a video link below with an interview with the artist where she goes a bit more into detail about this. She describes that when she was young she moved to the island Martinique, which had a huge influence on the way she saw the world. and the way she created her art. In her artists statement she writes... "Using traditional techniques, my work revives the medium through a contemporary context fueled by street art, comics, Pop art and counterculture. Employing a combination of jewelry techniques and illustration, my work mixes high and low art, while transporting viewers into a world more colorful and dreamlike than our own. Through the process of enameling, my illustrations transcend the two-dimensional realm of paper and are given new life in the physical world as wearable objects. With this work, I am reviving the traditions of enameling, as well as bringing sculpture and illustration into the context of contemporary jewelry." Most of the work I have included here and what she mostly works on to-date are champlevé broaches that utilize the wet packing enameling technique. Her pieces are emotive, vivid and extremely imaginative. I especially appreciate the attention to detail throughout the entire piece. Even the back side of the broach is given their own uniquely enameled design, that seems to be maybe stamped on? There is a great level skill that has been developed here, for sure! After enameling then the piece is attached to a wire backing with a clasp that mimics the form of each character. Guillaume's jewelry 'characters' have seemed to just have popped right out of an animation, the ability for the artist to tap into the imaginations of her audience is powerful and incredibly dynamic. I would personally be thrilled to potentially see some of these funky lads a bit more in action on the big screen! Tickle your imagination and check out more of Aurélie Guillaume's work on her instagram @mlleguillaume |
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