In my last letter I was resisting the onset of winter, the dark nights and low temperatures of the previous two winters were still uncomfortably easy to remember. However, here in the North West at least, the season so far has been a mixed one with the wind making itself felt far more than Jack Frost. To those members who I know had property damaged some weeks ago, I hope both the insurance assessors and your builders have made life easier for you rather than harder. Thankfully the nights are slowly starting to lengthen and the cotoneaster outside the window has 5 Field fares busily guzzling the fruit in between arguing with each other over whose tree it is.

In an attempt to get what passes for sunlight at this time of the year we took a walk up to our local Art Gallery the Williamson in Birkenhead. On entering one of the rooms we came across a large, striking, abstract painting that on closer inspection turned out to be an enamel panel by Stefan Knapp. After a bit of research we discovered that Knapp was responsible for the largest mural ever produced in Paramus New Jersey and 17 enamel murals at Heathrow. There are more details about this fascinating artist on the Guild website with a link to a more detailed piece from Glass on Metal.

Preparations for our Annual Conference are well underway. As I write, our tutorial workshops are almost full and Liz and I are working hard contacting speakers, tutors, selectors and suppliers to finalise the programme details. I’d like to thank all members of the Executive Committee for their help this year but particularly Liz who puts in an enormous amount of time and effort ensuring that Conference runs smoothly. This will be Liz’s final year as Conference Secretary.

We also wave goodbye to Mary Ford who is stepping down as Awards and Selection Officer. Many of us have been cajoled, encouraged and gently bullied by Mary to enter our work for selection. Whilst it can be a daunting prospect to submit one’s work for scrutiny it is also a very valuable exercise. On behalf of the Executive Committee I would like to offer sincere thanks to both Liz and Mary for all their hard work during their time as Officers of the Guild and look forward to seeing them both in April.

Still on the subject of Conference our suppliers at Reaseheath will be slightly different this year. Please see the separate article in this Journal.

In addition to conference, the Guild is involved in a number of other events this year. Region 4 is running the Guild stand at the Hobbycrafts Show at the NEC 22nd -25th March. (See details on the Guild website).

We also have the exhibition at Whitby this summer. This is an excellent opportunity for members to show and sell work this year. The gallery is asking mainly for wall based pieces; however there will be display cases available for jewellery and small items such as bowls. There is no limit to the number of pieces that can be submitted or any restriction on size. Please see the extra article elsewhere in the Journal and the Guild website for details of submission dates, contact details etc.

Enamel Fusion will be running again in conjunction with Craft & Design Magazine during May. Please let Lynne Glazzard have any details of any classes you wish to have listed on Craft & Design’s website as soon as possible.

Art in Action takes place this year between Thursday 19th and Sunday 22nd July. Please let Lesley Miller know if you wish to assist at this event.

The website is continuing to develop. There is now a For Sale and Wanted section on the main menu. Please email any items to David Cowling our website editor: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This is my last letter as Chair but I look forward to catching up with everyone at Reaseheath and at Conferences to come. Many thanks to all those I’ve met on my roam around the regions this year for their hospitality, kind words and good humour.

 

 

 

.

 

I can’t believe that autumn is here. Try as I might to convince myself otherwise all of the evidence is there to see; darker nights, lower temperatures, the beautiful plums, reds and russets of the leaves, the cotoneaster outside the window bowed down with bright red fruits. During the early part of this autumn I was invited to demonstrate enamelling techniques for the Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight on the Wirral. Both occasions were well attended with some members of the public staying for the whole session!
 
For many the onset of colder weather is time to put on more woollies and retire with a book. Not enamellers though; it’s the perfect time to have a bit of a sort out and get the kiln fired up.
To me there’s nothing nicer on a blustery wet day than putting the kiln on and having a play with a technique that you are unfamiliar with. I will certainly be experimenting with some of the enamels and processes I learned about at the Region 1&2 weekend in Edinburgh recently. My thanks go to all concerned for organizing such a great workshop but particularly to Veronica Matthew and Janet Notman for running the class and to Dorothy Cockrell for conjuring up lunches and dinner for 20 people from what seemed like thin air.
 
Whilst at the workshop my husband David took some pictures of the pieces produced over the two days. The photo’s can be viewed on the guild website, by clicking on the gallery button in the menu on the left hand side of the website front page. There has been a lot of work done on the website since the Spring. I am pleased to announce that the guild database of images is now live and can be accessed in the member’s area via your personal log on. I’d like to thank Julia Riddington who has written the software and David Cowling who has catalogued and edited thousands of images, for all their hard work getting this project up and running. There is a short article about the database and instructions on how to use it on the front page of the website. Please remember to scroll down the page as articles are added chronologically. It is still early days and much of the information is still being added. David would like members to look at their images and contact him with any additional information or corrections. In addition David is now responsible for the day to day aspects of managing the website. If you would like any pictures or articles adding then please contact him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
 
Most of the archive images have been taken at conference by Rob Griffin with help from Jock Miller, from the Themed and General exhibitions. If you haven’t entered a piece for either of the exhibitions before, please consider submitting something at the next conference, either personally or via your regional rep’ if you aren’t attending. Not only might you win one of the prizes but your work will be photographed and held on the guild archive. The title of the themed exhibition for 2012 is “Jungle”, so there’s plenty of scope for colour, texture and form.
 
At the conference in Canterbury the possibility of junior membership for under 18’s was raised. The current constitution allows for under 18’s to join the guild as full members for half the annual full subscription. However, to ensure that we are fully compliant with current child safety legislation, the Executive Committee decided that any member under the age of 18 wishing to attend regional workshops must have both their parent’s and the regional representative’s agreement that the workshop is suitable. Any under 18’s wishing to come to conference would need to be accompanied at all times by a participating adult member. Full details may be obtained from the Membership Secretary.
 
The Ravenstein exhibition was a great success with a number of exhibitors selling their work. The next opportunity for exhibiting work for sale will be summer 2012 in Whitby at the Pannett Art Gallery. Please see Lesley Miller’s article and the website for more details.
 
Our 2012 conference will take place at Reaseheath Agricultural College in Cheshire over the weekend of 13th-15th April. Reaseheath has good access from the M6 and is a short taxi ride from Crewe railway station. Our tutors for 2012 are Linda Connelly, Dale Deveraux Barker, Penny Gildea, Gillie Hoyte Byrom, Jill Leventon and Jane Short.
Shirley Gore will be running the Art Attack Session on our arrival on Friday evening. After dinner David Bainbridge of Milton Bridge Enamels will talk to us about enamel manufacture and on Saturday evening Carmen Lombardi from Sao Paulo in Brazil will be giving a presentation on her technique for torch firing cloisonné and plique-a-jour. The Masterclass on Sunday will be by Ruth Ball and is entitled “Working the Surface”.
 
I’d like to thank all of the tutors, speakers and selectors for giving their time so generously to support our conference. I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone one at Reaseheath in April but book early as places at conference go quickly.
 
 
 
. 

Earlier this year Guild of Enamellers was made aware that the EU were considering a restriction of lead in Jewellery and its coatings. The proposals had undergone a lengthy public consultation, that was nearing it's close. A search of the website and questions and replies showed that the issue of lead in enamel had been overlooked. I did notice that a derogation (exemption) had been proposed for lead crystal jewellery and requested a similar derogation be made for vitreous enamel.

 

The EU committee then raised a number of questions, both technical and about the economic impact of the proposed restriction. In order to attempt to answer the detailed questions about the economic impact I turned to some of our Guild members and for the technical information I contacted Milton Bridge Ceramic Colours Ltd. David Bainbridge, one of the Directors, then gave the issue a huge amount of time and energy, drawing upon his wider circle of contacts within the sector and putting together a strong supporting case addressing both the technical and economic issues.

 

On behalf of the Guild of Enamellers I would like to thank firstly David Bainbridge, for the time, energy and dedication he gave this. I would also like to thank all those who contributed by answering our, often very detailed questions, at such short notice and for the letters of support that we were able to include in our submissions to the EU. I am happy to say that, at the point of writing, the SEAC Background Document has been published and the suggested text does include a derogation for vitreous enamel, excluding it from the proposed restriction. We now wait and hope that it goes through and that the EU Members vote for it without alteration.The vote has to take place within 3 months of publication of the document, which was 30 September 2011.

 

Although when I joined the Guild this was not the kind of thing I was expecting to be involved in it has been an interesting, challenging and rewarding process. For those of you who are not already Guild Members I would encourage you to join and get involved. It will bring you into contact with a diverse and enthusiastic membership with a common aim of promoting, learning about and sharing enamelling. It has individual, family and corporate memberships available, for more information visit: www.guildofenamellers.org

 
Lynne Glazzard
Publicity Officer

By Raymond Jackson

Some Observations on Applying Transparent Enamels to Copper

Silver and gold are attractive metals for enamelling because of their intrinsic value and because they possess high reflecting properties, allowing transparent enamels to be shown to best advantage. In addition, gold and silver alloys do not oxidize significantly at the temperatures needed to fuse the enamels to them. Although minor oxidation can cause some transparent enamels to discolour, there are well established techniques to enable enamel clarity and colour to be of a very high order.


In contrast, copper presents a problem for transparent enamels, namely the rapid and significant oxidation that takes place when copper is heated to enamelling temperatures, (in the range 7000C – 10000C). Inexperienced enamellers might conclude it virtually impossible to achieve results quite as good as those on gold or silver. This may be true, but there is much published information on how to mitigate the discoloration of transparent enamels caused by the copper oxide that develops on the surface of the metal.

Read the full article

Observations on Transparent Enamels

More Articles ...

  1. Letter from the Chair Autumn 2011 Tilly Wilkinson
  2. Autumn Events
  3. Letter from the Chair Summer 2011 Tilly Wilkinson
  4. Ravenstein Exhibition Opens
Page 15 of 21