Great Show in California
by Benny Alba
Glass on Metal, Vol. 21, No. 5, December 2002
Paleolithic Pisces by Isabella
Corwin
ìEnameling has so many areas to explore...you
can get pretty crazy from it.î -
Alana Clearlake
The California-located Richmond Art Center opened the
6th International Juried Enameling Exhibition in September,
co-sponsored by the RAC and the California Enamel Guild.
Situated in a sizable gallery, this exhibit drew 54
participants for a total of 80 works.
US citizens were richly augmented by artists from
Argentina, Australia, England, Germany, Japan, Switzerland
and, a first, the Republic of Georgia (Russia).
Jurors Colette (Berkeley, CA), Jean Tudor (Seattle,
WA) and Susan Wood (Oakland, CA) were requested to select
for a survey exhibition.
The depth and breadth of this exhibit's choices meant
that everyone left the exhibit with one favorite in mind, if
not more.
Creative enameling artists give us great insight into
the possibilities of enameling by entering such exhibitions.
Various trends in enameling were apparent.
Porcelain enamels; those low fired, opaque and often
matt surfaced enamels usually applied to steel, were in full
force. These
included accomplished art by the well-known John Killmaster;
with his explorations in the expanded enamel of crayons and
watercolor on steel. Helen
Elliot's painterly sgraffito, a dark work of rich matt
texture and JoAnn Tanzer's use of both traditional jewelry
and porcelain enamels in Man and his Music are as well.
Additional effects are achieved by Elliot's incised
marks, which add a clay technique reference that goes across
media. Jessica
Calderwood's graphite drawing (few firings means that the
lines remain intact) startles because of the mix of unusual
shape and size.
Explorations with copper screen is a relatively new
addition to the field.
It's use ranged from cloisons in Marian Slepian's
panels to the wild and contemporary three dimensional
brushes by Mary Chuduk.
Alana Clearlake's sculptural pieces form mesh into
airy plique ý jour; vertically rising like a sail into the
air. Other uses
of wire, though not mesh, include Roxane Riva's small work
mounted on tile. A
hank of copper wire was attached after firing to good
effect. Riva
uses wet, open weave cloth as a stencil.
It is laid on Klyr Fire, with sifted enamel over it,
then the cloth is removed, leaving evocative textures.
Ingenious construction was shown by Yoshiko Yamamoto's
large beads of bundled wire enameled to form a necklace.
Foil, that ever interactive reflector of light, is
particularly extensive and lively in Jean Jenkin's Celtic
Sunrise. Here
silhouettes surround foil strips that are laid down as long
streamers, then sifted over. Many works included foil but not in such large areas.
Art with commentary includes Katharine S. Wood's Terra
Incognita III. This
ornate panel used gilt and champlevÈ concealing the
underlying copper. Set
in a carved dark frame perhaps this work refers to the
overlayment of our planet's surface. More to the point was Ground Zero, Felicia Liban's
eloquent and powerful sifted and Limoges piece with bits of
foil. This work speaks of 9/11.
In a lighter vein, Myrtha Moro's As a Tribute to
Frank Lloyd Wright, uses twisted wire, clear colors, and
glass buttons on metal that has been interestingly shaped.
Lastly, we found Leslie A. Schug's feminist
commentaries using miniature commode and frying pan, Her
Very Own Dream Kitchen, very apt.
Family 2 by Hiroko Morita
Another trend is the metalsmith's increasing use of
enamel for color. David
Griffin's cactus teapot, which attracts attention with it's
humorous windmill topped lid, uses deep green enamel to
sharply set off bare silver spines.
Like Laura S. Sutton's leaf necklace, some metal
pieces would be diminished without the enameled aspects.
Shava Lawson's necklace of layered 'leaves' of
translucently colored rectangles perfectly joins the two
fields. Hiroko
Morita's contemporary cloisonnÈ Family 2 probably
was cut, then enameled, with the actual 'arms' being bent
later.
More metalwork than enamel is evident in April
Higashi's bracelet and box and Matt Benton's assemblage.
His consists of two inter-linked flat copper shapes.
One is a grid created by drilling holes, then
stringing a saw blade through to cut from one hole to the
other...a witty, dry work of British ancestry.
Jan Harrell's rusted nails and Felicia Szorad's fish
lure brooches exhibit fine design and excellent metal work
as do Jane Meinershagen's pendants.
Torch firing can give color variations that appear
ancient. Deborah
Lozier's multiple small shapes show metal work and colors as
interacting wonderfully.
Lozier's work captured the June Schwarcz California
Enamel Guild Award.
Special works that do not fall into any trend need to
be mentioned here. Isabella
Corwin's Paleolithic Pisces use of fire glaze and
large grained, hand ground 'sand' is a standout piece. Fire glaze remains permanent with a quick, high temperature
firing. The
fire glaze remains intact whether left bare or not
(according to master enamelist and author Kenneth F. Bates).
Apparently Corwin did these steps first, then applied
the coarse grains. Fired
carefully, the granular articulation remains.
Difficult to ignore would be John Ahr's Transient
Intimacies, a 77 inch tall obelisk of silk screened
words on enameled 'bricks' with a light inside of the base.
Beyond classic schools of thought, this work, like
those of K. Bergman Cassell, Jessica Calderwood and Leslie
Schug, seem to contain cross-over information from other
media and their contemporary styles.
Humorously, Vivian Kline's crude pyramid of crackle
enamel cityscape of light switch plates takes pre-formed and
common household shapes to a new level.
Finally, let us honor those whose adherence to
traditional shapes, schools of thought and techniques remind
us of the joy of creating beauty.
Yohko Yoshimura's sizable, traditionally shaped box
is exquisite. It
is covered with cloisonnÈ flowers with centers of
glimmering solid silver on a black background.
Margarita Popova's bracelet of linked-together shell,
stones and cloisonnÈ brooch shapes show fine work.
Raul Perez Alonso's many fired, true Limoges
medallions are set into a silver box.
Carolyn Delzoppo's joyously clear colors are on
silver. Art
that demonstrates the great craftsmanship strengths of the
enameling tradition include Karin Pohl's Madonna, Sara
Perkin's altar cups and Karin Drechsler Ruhmann's small work
of four colors.
In sum, the 6th International Juried Enamel
Exhibition displayed the strength of this field.
Enameling is a fine art as well as an accomplished
craft. The
broad spectrum of enameling today includes the traditional
and the contemporary, the use of new techniques and media as
well as thought. Enameling
is an ancient field and yet is excitingly alive; expanding
to new understandings.
Bottom of the Sea #3: Revisited
by JoAnn Tanzer
To view more
images of works from this show, see Vol. 21, No. 5, December
2002 issue of Glass on Metal.
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