The urge to express thoughts, feelings, ideas comes first. Only then can I consider the various ways to convey my concept in enamels. Great concentration and deep thought are required at this point because enamel is not an easy medium to work with; it’s technical requirements must be met. Yet this thinking can lead to new techniques or innovative use of old techniques because the strong expressive desire can pressure me to think creatively as I strive to find a clear way to make my visual statement. When the concept and the technique used to express it are combined successfully in a single piece I have a success. The Gallery pieces shown here are examples.
Environmental Gallery
The pieces were done in 2008 when I was particularly concerned with the fracking that was going on in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. I am a Board member of the Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation who sued the Governor and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for allowing the drilling companies to lease and drill on state land. The oxidized areas that form in response to the eutectic reaction represent the destruction and are in stark contrast to the beautiful transparency of the high fired enamel. After doing the fracking pieces, I moved on to Three Mile Island and Air Pollution. After the Tsunami hit the northern coast of Japan I did Fukushima Daiichi. Recently I have done a piece I call "The Jellyfish Take Over the Seas" where the black oxidation representing the jellyfish is especially ominous, because the seas, lacking oxygen, have turned a sickly green-yellow. There is inspiration everywhere, unfortunately.
Eutectic Gallery
The eutectic pieces are all experimental in nature. It is a seemingly disordered process, and yet there are ways to introduce control. The composition of the underlying enamel can produce certain effects; the temperature is a factor as is the kiln environment. The oxidation can be removed exposing the underlying silver, while the length of time a piece is exposed to the acid and the type of acid used can change the results. With these and other variables affecting any given piece, aesthetic decisions are fundamental to getting good results.
Foils Gallery
I have worked with foils of fine silver, gold, and copper. I have varied the thickness of each, and textured their surfaces, always experimenting with new combinations of texture, color, even varying a single color over layers of foil with each layer showing a different shade of the color. I have worked with stripped electrical wire to form trees, a favorite subject, and have used copper screen as a design element. I shaped thinner foil to make collages, generally doing geometric shapes, and return to doing these pieces from time to time. They portray the sense of calm, order, and peace which I experience in my studio.
Regeneration Gallery
These pieces show a sense of hope and joy in the regenerative process of living things. In 1991 I did a series of plates dealing with bulbs as a symbol of that process using 36 gauge fine silver to make the bulbs, forming and texturing the pieces for visual interest. I used strips of the same material to make the shoots emerging from the bulbs and later shaped long strips to make trees.
Environmental GalleryThe pieces were done in 2008 when I was particularly concerned with the fracking that was going on in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. I am a Board member of the Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation who sued the Governor and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for allowing the drilling companies to lease and drill on state land. The oxidized areas that form in response to the eutectic reaction represent the destruction and are in stark contrast to the beautiful transparency of the high fired enamel. After doing the fracking pieces, I moved on to Three Mile Island and Air Pollution. After the Tsunami hit the northern coast of Japan I did Fukushima Daiichi. Recently I have done a piece I call "The Jellyfish Take Over the Seas" where the black oxidation representing the jellyfish is especially ominous, because the seas, lacking oxygen, have turned a sickly green-yellow. There is inspiration everywhere, unfortunately.
Eutectic GalleryThe eutectic pieces are all experimental in nature. It is a seemingly disordered process, and yet there are ways to introduce control. The composition of the underlying enamel can produce certain effects; the temperature is a factor as is the kiln environment. The oxidation can be removed exposing the underlying silver, while the length of time a piece is exposed to the acid and the type of acid used can change the results. With these and other variables affecting any given piece, aesthetic decisions are fundamental to getting good results.
Foils Gallery
I have worked with foils of fine silver, gold, and copper. I have varied the thickness of each, and textured their surfaces, always experimenting with new combinations of texture, color, even varying a single color over layers of foil with each layer showing a different shade of the color. I have worked with stripped electrical wire to form trees, a favorite subject, and have used copper screen as a design element. I shaped thinner foil to make collages, generally doing geometric shapes, and return to doing these pieces from time to time. They portray the sense of calm, order, and peace which I experience in my studio.
Regeneration GalleryThese pieces show a sense of hope and joy in the regenerative process of living things. In 1991 I did a series of plates dealing with bulbs as a symbol of that process using 36 gauge fine silver to make the bulbs, forming and texturing the pieces for visual interest. I used strips of the same material to make the shoots emerging from the bulbs and later shaped long strips to make trees.