Bonnie Mackintosh

I hope that some of you were able to attend the AGM Conference Weekend at Dillington and that you were able to have a good look at the Guild Exhibition there.

You might have seen some excellent Scrolling (have you tried it yet??) by Kath Kay and others. You might also have seen an "inlayed" piece of mine called "Tabby Sleeping" which showed the outline of a cat in silver and gold wire on a matt black background. This is the technique introduced in this issue.

 

Inlay is a sifted technique (although "wet laying" will work equally well) in which skilfully manipulated wire forms the design interest (unlike Cloisonne, in which wire forms borders or "cells" to hold the colour which forms the design interest). The enamelling part consists of the careful balancing of two enamelled surfaces over successive coats, to prevent warping of the metal. The actual "work" comes in the skilful bending of the wire and the lengthy "stoning down" process for a perfect finish.

 

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