Archive for Creativity

“There and Not There:” The Enamel Art of René Roberts

If you saw our recent exhibit Place as Landscape/Place as Concept: Contemporary Enameling in the U.S., mounted in conjunction with the Richmond Art Center, you will already be familiar with the enamel art of René Roberts. Three works from Roberts’ “Salt Point” series, otherworldly interpretations of the coastal geography near her home, were featured in that show. Here, she shares with us some of the technical and creative challenges of creating this series–and her beautiful solutions.

Salt Point Tafoni #7, from the exhibit Place as Landscape / Place as Concept, 2019 with the Center for Enamel Art and Richmond Art Center

The champlevé enamels from my “Salt Point” series represent a type of sandstone formation called tafoni, found at Salt Point State Park in Northern California.

I’ve been photographing this strange sculptural landscape for many years. Photography is the way I study and get to know each rock, and my photos of this location number in the thousands. When I hike this stretch of coastal headlands, I feel like I’m entirely transported to another world.

I began etching Salt Point images in 1995, and enameling them in 2003. I came to the enamel medium from glass, which I had been working with since 1978. I’d also done a lot of work with experimental copper patinas, so my original intent was to marry these media and see realistic glass enameled images completely embedded in dark colored metal, like quartz might be embedded in stone. I was also intrigued by the three-dimensionality that etched and colored images appeared to have when viewed from a distance. This 3-D effect imparts a quality of “there and not there” that, for me, captures the mystery of the Salt Point landscape.

My goal of achieving photo-realistic champlevé took several years to achieve, and posed many technical challenges. These notes aren’t  intended to be a technical tutorial or “how-to,” but rather to give a broad overview of how my pieces are created, some of the technical issues involved, and my approach to solving some of the problems. For those who are interested in knowing more, I’ve  provided a few resources.

There are three major technical hurdles: creating a realistic etchable image from a grayscale photograph, using an etching resist that will hold up long enough in the etchant for the depth I require, and finding enamel(s) that will stay white-ish in tiny areas over several firings.   

1. My first hurdle is to etch a photo that originally has just a lot of textural grays. Etching is an “on or off” process that requires an image that is only black and white, without any grays. Strong graphics etch the best, so subtle rocks present a particular challenge because they are mostly a uniform value.

Original grayscale image for “Salt Point Tafoni #5”. I selectively heighten the contrast and work on the gray areas to make sure the halftone negative can actually be etched.

First I adjust the contrast of the image in Photoshop. Because the image needs to be only blacks and whites, I apply a halftone screen that breaks the gray image into dots. I now have a white background with tiny black dots, and the realistic image is still intact.

Image choice requires a lot of cropping, testing, and contrast adjustments to make something work for etching and enameling.  This is where I spend lot of my “art time”. Each image can often take days to fine tune. Sometimes trial etching runs are required. I don’t want to waste expensive enamel on something that should have been fixed in the computer!

My process requires exposing a negative of the image onto the copper, so next I use Photoshop to reverse the blacks and whites of the halftone image. Then I print the negative onto clear acetate film that’s made for photographic negatives. I use Pictorico, but others are available.

Halftone negative; black and white have been reversed in Photoshop and printed on acetate film.

2. The champlevé process requires filling deeply etched areas with enamel. The next challenge is to create a resist with tiny dots, some as small as .5mm, that will hold up in ferric chloride for the several hours needed for this deep etch.

To accomplish this, I use a photopolymer film that hardens with UV light, with a non-toxic technique developed by printmakers. The brand of film I use is ImagOn, but there are others available. I’ve found that this film holds up for a very long time, much better than PnP Blue, and even the tiniest dots stay put.

Working in a darkroom, I coat a sheet of copper with the photopolymer and expose it to UV light using the computer negative I created earlier. UV light will harden this film so it  becomes a tough coating that is an etching resist. Clear areas of my negative will harden the ImagOn with light, becoming the solid copper blacks of the image. Black areas of the negative will block the light and will wash away during development, becoming the etched and enameled whites.

After exposure, I “develop” the copper plate in sodium carbonate, which is washing soda available at the grocery store. Unexposed areas (the blacks on the film) are dissolved, and will etch. The clear areas on the film have allowed the ImagOn to harden with light, and those won’t dissolve upon developing. Those areas will resist etching.

More technical information on how to use ImageOn film can be found in a very good book by Keith Howard, called The Contemporary Printmaker. Other good how-to’s for another resist called Puretch exist on YouTube. The films can be purchased from companies selling printmaking supplies, such as Takach Press and Cape Fear Press, and they generally come with instructions for exposure and development.

3.  Next I etch the copper panel in ferric chloride for about four hours. Every place that has ImagOn film still on it will resist the acid; all the bare areas will be etched to a depth of about .5mm to 1mm.

Many metalsmiths are now using galvanic etching instead of ferric chloride, and there are many advantages to etching this way. However, my halftone dots are so tiny that with the galvanic process they are often destroyed before my etch gets to my required depth. I am still experimenting to make this process work for me.  

4. Now comes the tricky part. Deeply etched areas will receive very finely ground white enamel, which I apply wet over the entire piece like a thin mud. It requires about three applications of enamel to completely fill the etched areas, with a firing and stoning with an alundum stone between each application.

“Salt Point Tafoni #5” after first firing and before stoning, with texture still very visible. Two more applications and firings of enamel will be required to fill the texture.

The copper oxide will always color the white enamel, imparting a pink or greenish cast to it. The most challenging part of doing these pieces is controlling this discoloration in the tiny areas. All of my tiny areas can turn green or black if I’m not careful!

First I do sample tests of many white enamels, to see how each one discolors in the tiniest halftone areas. Then I mix a number of different white enamels together, depending on the colors each one wants to shift, to control this discoloration. Every image receives a slightly different color formula, depending on the end result that I want. I use both leaded and unleaded enamels, often mixing them together.

I also control firing time and temperature very carefully because the dots of enamel are so easily colored by copper oxide.

Some of the other steps are more mechanical, but the enamel testing and application takes up much of my time.  

5. The copper warps differently in black or dark gray areas than it does in light areas. This can pose a significant issue with  mounting the piece in a professional way. With each enamel coat, I selectively build up counter enamel on the back to control warpage, according to the black and white areas of the image. I create a stencil design that I cut into shapes, so I can counter-enamel selected areas with each firing.

“Salt Point Tafoni #5” counter-enamel plan showing rough areas of lights and darks. The shapes will be cut apart and used as stencils for selective thicknesses of counter-enamel.

“Salt Point Tafoni #5”, with first application of counter-enamel. Counter-enamel is adjusted with each firing, as the front side fills up and the piece begins to warp.

6. After the last enamel application, firing and stoning, I polish the bare copper and enamel to a smooth matte finish with a series of diamond pads, ranging from 80 to 400 mesh.

I then fire the piece one last time to fire polish the enamel, and finally the copper is pickled in acid to clean off all the fire scale. I’m careful to control the time the piece is left in the pickle, so as to not allow the acid to etch the enamel.

7. Lastly I immerse the piece in a patina solution that blackens the copper. This step allows the lights and darks of the landscape to be revealed.

Then I wax the entire piece to prevent the dark copper from being discolored with finger oils.

“Salt Point Tafoni #5”, the finished piece. Warm and cool color variations happen as the copper oxides color the glass. Different enamels impart different oxide colors, ranging from pink, blue, or green.

“Salt Point Tafoni #4”

Detail, “Salt Point Tafoni #4.” The smallest dots are less than .5mm across, and will rapidly discolor with firing. This can be controlled with various enamel formulas and very careful firing times. Sometimes shadows will take on a different color cast than highlights, and this can enhance the 3D effect of the piece.

How long does this all take? Including the computer work, an 8”x8” piece takes about two weeks, start to finish. (Tromping around the landscape and mounting the finished pieces takes longer.) I often work on 3 or 4 pieces together to expedite the whole process.

 

René Roberts cut her first piece of glass in 1978 while working as a criminal trial lawyer. With a passion for experimentation, a background in chemistry, and a high tolerance for methodical, time-consuming processes, she soon embarked on what would become a 40-year exploration of glass, metal and fire. She became obsessed with fusing and casting glass in a kiln, and later, with torch-firing copper and silver to create an ethereal color palette. In 2002, she began using the enamel process of champlevé, incorporating imagery from her own photographs into her work. Over the years, she has reinvented her materials in several media to create visual hybrids that explore the enigmatic landscape she calls home. Her work has appeared in several books, including Formed of Fire, Masters: Glass Beads, and 500 Enameled Objects. To see more of her work, visit www.reneroberts.com.

The Nature of a Place: Harlan Butt’s Enameled Vessels

Glacier Vessel #2 2015 copper, enamel, silver 5.5 x 8 x 8

Since 2003, enamelist and metalsmith Harlan Butt has been at work on a series of enameled vessels based on our national parks. On vessels he forms himself, he uses traditional techniques  to create imagery and text that he develops during extended wilderness stays. With delicate, often dreamlike images, glowing colors, and short phrases, Harlan’s work breaks the standard craft aesthetic, capturing not just the flora and fauna but a feeling, the sense of being at home in a wild space.

His work is rooted in a long tradition of artists in our national parks–a great many of the parks have artist residencies, of which he has done several–and though he has no overtly political agenda, his project is particularly relevant in the context of reduced funding for the parks. Most of all there is the sense of something valuable and permanent being subverted, used instead to give worth to something ephemeral and at risk.

We are thrilled that Harlan Butt will be giving a presentation about his National Parks series in conjunction with the class he is teaching for the Center for Enamel Art. Free and open to the public, the talk will be held at 6:30pm on October 14, at Nahl Hall at the California College of the Arts. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear a true master speak about his process, his inspirations, and why our connection to nature matters more now than ever.

Center for Enamel Art: How did the National Parks series come about?

Harlan Butt: My work almost from the beginning was nature oriented, and had to do with wilderness, natural geography. In 1979 I went out to Big Bend National Park in west Texas. I had a little bit of funding from the university, so I took some pictures, went back to the studio and made some vessels that were inspired by the park. That was sort of the core of it, but I didn’t do it again for many years. It wasn’t until 2003 that I started the series. I thought I would propose a project to my university, and it seemed like the National Parks were a natural place to go to be inspired by different kinds of landscapes. I ended up going to three different parks for a couple of weeks each, and then coming back to the studio and making works inspired by them. Eventually I realized that some of the National Parks have artist residencies, so I began applying to those, and I’ve done three so far. They give you a place to stay for a month or so, and you have access to the park while you are there.

Yellowstone Vessel #1 2010 copper, enamel, silver 8 x 4 x 4

CEA: Can you talk a little bit about what the series means to you, and what you are trying to achieve with it?

HB: I think it started out as purely artistic and personal, but it has evolved to the point where…well, the natural world in general is disappearing, and part of the reason is because we’ve sort of distanced ourselves from it. Part of the way that people can make contact with nature is through the National Parks. And of course that has caused problems too, because a lot of the parks have so many people visiting that there is a certain deterioration of the park. But I still think that if people are not exposed to the natural world, they won’t have any feeling that it needs to be protected. So I do want to raise awareness. And not just by depicting the physical part of whatever park I go to, but something of the essence of what it’s like to be there, which is a hard thing to describe.

CEA: And maybe that is easier to express visually. I notice that some vessels also have original poems etched into them.

HB: Yes, what I’m trying to do is have multiple layers of expression that can at least point to the complexity of a particular place.

 

To see more of Harlan Butt’s work and learn about his process, visit https://harlanwbutt.com/home.html.

 

Organ Pipe Vessel #1 2004 silver, enamel, copper 8.5 x 4.5 x 4.5

 

Bryce Canyon Vessel #1 2017 copper, enamel, silver 9 x 7 x 7

 

Acadia Vessel #4 2015 silver, enamel, copper 6 x 6 x 6

Expanding Our Space, Expanding Our Reach. You Can Help!

As we announced just before New Year’s, we have been offered a wonderful opportunity: our own space for large-scale enameling in a new facility that KVO Industries has acquired in Santa Rosa, CA. This space, which we are calling the Annex, is the first dedicated artist-use large-scale enameling space in the U.S., and will be an incredible resource for the Center. We hope you will be a part of this new exciting new phase, and will help contribute to our efforts if you are able!

Enameled steel sign at KVO Industries. Together, we can make it happen!

Our plans for the Annex are ambitious. The space will provide a place to create large-scale enameled steel art, including public and private commissions. Artisans will be able to design and produce enameled steel products. The Annex will also be a place to explore new applications and techniques for enameling steel. We will be able to offer groundbreaking classes, host visiting artists and eventually, provide ongoing residency programs. Although KVO’s large (8′ x 5′) hanging belt furnace is particularly suited for two-dimensional work, the Center is encouraging all who are interested in working three-dimensionally in enameled steel to come to the factory to work.

We are delighted that the Annex will be inaugurated with a workshop from master enamelist, John Killmaster, from July 6th to July 9th. Killmaster, at age 83, has experienced a resurgence in his career. A younger audience, which has recently embraced the use of liquid enamels, is now flocking to his work and his teaching.

We will offer regularly scheduled, facilitated weekend workdays at the Annex. In addition, our plans include workshops, factory tours and workdays for schools, and three- to five-day residencies for those working on projects or commissions. To find out more about the 2018 KVO program schedule, please contact the Center.

We believe that a space like this, created in a close partnership with an artist-friendly industrial facility like KVO, is essential to the future of enameling. It will allow us to share the possibilities of industrial enameling with more artists, and to bring new techniques, and more and larger work, into public view.
As we work to bring our plans to life, we will share our progress with you here on our blog and on Facebook. Along the way, we will ask for your help as we develop our large-scale enameling program and related educational programming. Even though KVO has been extremely generous is making this space possible, there is a cost.  Our monthly lease payment is small for what it includes, but our programming cannot pay for all of the expenses associated with the space.
Please consider a contribution towards these goals.
  • $50 can purchase tools and equipment.
  • $100 can fund scholarships for classes and workshops.
  • $250 can fund promotion for outreach to all artists
  • $500 or more can create a residency program for artists wanting to work inside an enamel factory.
  • If you would contribute to the space by naming it, please contact the Center for more information about naming rights.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW. It’s simple and easy, and makes a huge difference to our work!

As a member of the enameling community, you know how rare and valuable an opportunity this is. We are grateful for your involvement and support. Together, we can create an exciting future for enameling!

Our workshops are back for another terrific year! REGISTER NOW

Registration is now open for our 2018 workshop season–join us! Master traditional skills or push the limits of new ones in friendly, small-group classes taught by top educators and artists. Choose from our Radical Enameling series or our NEW Masters Series!

In addition, many of our instructors give a free public presentation on their work in conjunction with the workshop. Join our mailing list on our home page to be sure you never miss one, and follow us on Instagram: @centerforenamelart.

Tonight, Thursday May 17th, Kathryn Osgood speaks at the Crucible! Information below. 

Radical Enameling

Our Radical Enameling workshops are taught by some of the most innovative artists working today, using unorthodox methods and materials to challenge enamel’s technical and aesthetic limits.

Kathryn Osgood  THIS WEEKEND!

Enamels: Exploring Texture, Color and Form May 18-20, The Crucible, Oakland, CA

Free public presentation TONIGHT! Thursday, May 17th, 6:30PM at the Crucible, second floor performance space.

Alicia Jane Boswell  

Between the Precious Glass Folds: Etch, Score, Fold, Stitch, Enamel…Repeat! June 8-10, The Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA

Jennifer Wells  

Enamels On and Off the Body September 19-21, The Crucible, Oakland, CA

Masters Series

Founded to honor leading enamelists at the pinnacle of their artistic development, our Masters Series classes feature classic enameling techniques taught by those who have spent a lifetime mastering them.

Ruth Ball –  Contemporary Enameling On Silver March 23-25 and March 26-28, Silvera’s Jewelry School, Berkeley, CA

John KillmasterExperimental Large Scale Enameling on Steel July 13-16, the Center’s new space at KVO Industries, Santa Rosa, CA

Harlan Butt –  New Approaches to Cutting Precious Metal Foil Shapes and Enamel Layering Over Foil, October  15-17, The Crucible, Oakland, CA

Martha BanyasExplorations & Rendering: Drawing and Painting with Enamel Dec. 7-9, Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA

 

See the whole list here: REGISTER NOW!

See you at the workshops!

Surface, Color, Form: We Talk With Kathryn Osgood About Her Boundary-Pushing Work

Brooch, Kathryn Osgood

Kathryn Osgood worked as an engineer for a small, family-owned telephone company in rural Maine for almost 20 years before starting a second life as an artist, jeweler, and enamelist. After studying with Linda Darty and Bob Ebendorf at East Carolina University, she moved to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where she heads the Professional Crafts Jewelry Program at College of The Albemarle in Manteo

Osgood’s work pushes the boundaries of enameling, using fold-forming, varied surfaces, and non-traditional materials to create tactile, sculptural pieces. Osgood will share her expertise in her upcoming workshop, Enamels: Exploring Texture, Color and Form. The workshop runs from May 18 – May 20, 2018, at the Crucible in Oakland, CA.

There are still slots available in this workshop–register now!

 

What drew you to enamel as your preferred medium?

I have always loved color. It elicits an emotional response from the viewer; it can be calming, sensual, exciting, joyful. Before I became a jeweler and enamellist, I was working as a textile artist, doing surface design, painting and dyeing fabric and creating wall hangings and quilts. When I took my first metals class, I was hooked. I loved working with metal; how it allowed me to create dimensional work. It could be hammered, shaped, and formed.  I fell in love with the material, but I really missed the element of color.

When I discovered enamel, I found a way to bring color back into my work. Layering opaque and transparent enamels allows me explore an almost unlimited rich color palette.

Ocean Brooch, Kathryn Osgood

How did you become intrigued with textured dimensional surfaces?

When I began working with metal and was fabricating jewelry from sheet metal, I was not satisfied with the idea of decorating a flat surface.  I wanted to create pieces that were more sculptural, to take advantage of the plasticity of metal, of its ability to be formed into organic shapes.  I began exploring the natural forms around me: magnolia pods, pine cones, leaves.  I was intrigued by the textures found in nature and I wanted to replicate them, creating pieces that were more organic.

I enjoy exploring ways to from metal by hammering, dapping, bending, fold forming, shell forming, and die forming.  I like my pieces to have a tactile quality, to invite the viewer to touch.  I want them to feel good, to entice with both texture and color.

Who have been your mentors?

There are so many talented enamelists whose work inspires me, so it is hard to just name a few.

I was lucky enough to study at East Carolina University with Linda Darty and Bob Ebendorf.  Linda Darty introduced me to enameling and the world of color on metal. Linda is a master enamellist and she generously shared her extensive knowledge of enameling and was a supportive and encouraging teacher. Linda continues to impress me with her beautiful work and with her love for the art of enameling. Bob Ebendorf is also a mentor and generous teacher. His knowledge of metalsmithing and his adventurous creative spirit continue to inspire me in living a creative life.

Osgood on the North Carolina coast

What inspires your work?

I live on Roanoke Island, off the coast of North Carolina. Since moving to the Outer Banks area, my work has changed to reflect my environment. The colors and textures of the sand and the water that surround my coastal home inform my work. In the early mornings, I often walk on the beach with my dog, Lola, picking up pieces of shells and driftwood that have washed in with the tide.  My pieces are based on marine plant and animal forms, their textures and colors informed by the shell fragments that I have collected.

 Find more of Osgood’s work on her website.