GALLERY (Click on the thumbnail images for enlarged detail and description.)


A BESTIARY FOR OUR TIMES

I enjoy medieval manuscripts, so when I heard the word "bestiary," I thought, "What a great idea! A bestiary for our times." The ancient bestiaries included mythical animals that no one had ever seen. A book for our times, then, should include animals we may never see again; thus, a bestiary of endangered animals.

Each page is silver cloisonné on copper on both sides. It is an alphabet book, complete with title page and content pages. There is a total of 15 plaques, therefore 30 pages in all. Instead of the usual geometric, decorative borders, each animal has a border related to its habitat or food.

Side 1

Side 2


SWISS IMAGES

This is one work, consisting of 16 small pieces. Each cloisonné piece is 3 inches in diameter, mounted on black plexiglas 3.5" square. Silver cloisonné enamel on copper. Images are taken from drawings and photos from a trip to Switzerland.

"The Rhine Fall, near Shaffhausen"

"Wasserkirche, Zurich"

"Geraniums at Schloss Laufen, near Shaffhausen"


RAKU AND CLOISONNÉ WORKS

Applying the raku firing technique to enamelwork has long fascinated me. The problem is how to use the random and whimsical raku pieces. They often fail to fit into some of the usual aspects of art such as balance, focal point, and color placement.

I like using their chaotic appearance as a foil for the strongly controlled character of cloisonné. Because I often work with ancient images, they provide a suggestion of the unknown and, in my mind, chaotic feel of these ancient civilizations or strange settings. The cloisonné brings in a feeling of order and control in a difficult environment.