Jeweller, metalsmith, enameller
INTRODUCTION
The iris tiles project was commissioned by NMGM - National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside - as part of an overall refurbishment of Walker Galleries' Craft and Design gallery. This long term project will be ready for opening early in 2003. Within the final display of the Museum's collection, computer-driven video screens will show clips of a range of techniques. Visitors will be able to use touch-screen displays to access a range of information and images to find out how a piece is made.
My brief was to provide a range of examples of the techniques of champleve, cloisonné and painted enamel. The information was to be provided in the form of video demonstration, the filming of which was organised by the museum. The resulting set of sample tiles was to be used as an educational resource. The aim was to provide museum visitors a clear understanding of the main techniques used in the creation of the enamels in the Museum's collection - the collection consists mainly of traditional, historical pieces, mostly dating from the 17th century to the present day.
At the time the commission was given a fairly short deadline as the pieces had to be ready to fit in with filming, video editing and future ongoing museum developments within the galleries. I decided upon an Iris design, feeling that any image used would have to be recognisable to be understood. The Iris shape also gave other possibilities in that it was reasonably complex, and so could show off the differences in technique - as a shape it could be displayed and illustrated in different formats.
The museum also has a large collection of Victorian artefacts so the Iris fitted in well to this era ... and well ... I had a vase of them at the time ! With hindsight I might have designed something more avant-garde, but overall the idea worked OK. I think that deciding to use the same image for each technique was one of the strongest parts of the overall project as it really shows up the differences in style that each technique can provide, and gives a better understanding of each technique stage by stage.
The images represent the way I approach these techniques personally, and don't reflect any absolute / correct methods. The photos are my own recording of the various stages of each process as I worked on the follow-up sample tiles. The information gives a general overview into each technique individually. Some prior knowledge of enamel terms is assumed; however the descriptions are aimed at a beginner / intermediate level in order to give a basic understanding.
Ruth Ball
RUTH BALL, RESUME
Click above to see a selection of Ruth's jewellery and Sterling silver
enamelled vessels incorporating painted enamel and champlevé techniques.
The "How To" article is divided for convenience into 5 sections:
ENAMEL PREPARATION
CHAMPLEVÉ ENAMELS
PAINTED ENAMELS
CLOISONNÉ ENAMELS
A VARIETY of OUTCOMES
