ABOUT
My background
Enamelling has become my focus in the last three years after a fire destroyed the building that my silver jewellery studio was in. While trying to find a new studio I decided to do a course in enamelling and I was hooked! I have since become a member of The Guild of Enamellers and The British Society of Enamelling. This year I was very honoured to achieve several awards at The Guild of Enamelling annual conference, including The Chairmans Award, and the award for the most innovative use of enamel. I have also been selected to exhibit this year at The British Society of Enameller’s Enamel Matter exhibition at The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
Cruan is Irish Gailge for enamel.
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The process
I create the initial design for a bowl or vessel on paper, play around with it for a while, shading different colours and enamel designs on various copies. I then start the slow process of creating a physical template of my design. I cut a disc from copper and start to create the bowl or vessel using hammers, stakes and silversmithing techniques. This includes lots of annealing the metal to soften it, then pickling it to remove the fire scale before starting to sink the shape, hammering the inside. This process is repeated many times depending on the shape and size of the finished piece. When the piece has been sunk it is then time to start raising it. This involves more annealing, pickling and hammering but on the other side of the shape, the outside. When the shape matches my initial design the really painstaking part begins with the planishing to remove all the hammer marks from forming the piece.
Once the shape is completed I start the process of enamelling the shape. Enamelling is the fusing of glass and metal in an extremely hot kiln, anywhere between 650 degrees C and 950 degrees C depending on the type of metal, effect that I require and which stage of firing that I am at. I use ground glass that comes from The Potteries area of the country. I wash the glass to remove the very fine dust particles that could make the final piece cloudy and grind the rest of the powder with a mortar and pestle to get the grade of glass that I want. The process may be repeated up to ten times. When I have layered the first coat of glass onto the surface of the piece I have a rough idea of the results that I will achieve but it is a bit like alchemy, I’m never sure of exactly what I am going to see when the kiln opens. Unlike other kiln crafts the vessel is removed when it is glowing hot and the final effect isn’t seen until the glass has completely cooled. Reds originally come out of the kiln as black and I love watching the colour change as the glass cools. To achieve the design that I am happy with the piece may need to be coated and enamelled many times in fine layers.
When I have the enamel effect that I want I can then start to expose the copper to complete my design. Sometimes I leave the copper with some of the patina and fire scale that it gains through the kiln firing, sometimes I sand back the effects of the kiln with a range of grades of sandpaper. I then apply the texture that I want to the copper. I very rarely completely enamel my pieces as I love showcasing the material that the vessel is created from.
When the shape of bowl works for the enamelling technique and appearance I want I then send the design to Warren in Sheffield who, using a lathe, creates a vinyl mould of the bowl and then hand spins each of the bowls. The chuck that he’s made is then stored and kept exclusively for my designs. You can watch Warren creating mine and other people’s bowls on Instagram (@wm.handmade)
Once I have my bowls I start creating the enamelled pieces to go to shops, galleries or events. Some pieces are limited editions, some are one off pieces and some are retail favourites, but all are unique as they are hand spun, and then hand enamelled.
Where you can find me
My studio is in Krowji creative space in Redruth, Cornwall - Krowji is Cornish for workspace/shed and Cruan is Irish for enamel. Some of my pieces are inspired by the seascapes around me and others are inspired by the light playing over the Cornish fields or Wicklow mountains.
