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“"Sixteen Pieces Inspired By Four Elements"
May 6th - June 1st, 2007
I have always been inspired by the Australian Aboriginal desert paintings: to me the Artists sharing of thier "Dreamtime" images invites me to experience an unfamiliar, but friendly world. The Title of a canvas might read "Honey Ants Going Home" Ah' I think, so this is what a Honey Ant looks like.
Appreciation of the Aboriginal Paintings inspired me to look at the ' Four Elements ' in this same impressionistic way, prompting me to explore my cultural perception of the Elements and how I might translate this into a vitrous and enamel form. As the pieces started to take shape from the concept to the material, I enjoyed the understanding that each piece is the outcome of the ' Four Elements' re-combining in new ways.
My intent was to keep the design simple, painterly; my appreciation of elegant packages led me to display each ' Element' in a way that encourages the viewer to look at the pieces beyond the function.
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Monique was born in Mcbride, British Columbia in 1949 and graduated with a fine Arts Certificate from the Kootenay School of Art in Nelson, BC. She further continued her education enrolling in the Goldsmithing Apprenticeship Program at Vancouver Community College where she advanced her enameling skills. She designs, makes and markets high quality, one of a kind or limited production “wearable art” from vitreous enamel, precious metal and gemstones. Cloisonne Technique. The desired shape for the enamel is cut from 18 gauge fine silver sheet, it is then annealed, domed and cleaned for the first firing in the kiln. The first firing is always a transparent, colorless enamel flux that is sieved onto the surface of the fine silver piece and fired in a kiln at 750c. The enamels are imported from Japan and come in a granular form, looking much like sand and fuse to the metal in about 90 seconds at temperature
After firing the flux, fine silver ribbon 1 mm high x 1/10 mm thick is annealed, bent into the desired shapes, dipped in adhesive and laid on the surface of the fluxed piece. When the adhesive has dried the piece is fired again allowing the cloisonne ribbon to be “grabbed“ by the flux, holding it permanently to the surface of the piece.
The next step is to “wash” the colored enamels with a mortar and pestle to enhance the clarity of the colors and insure that all impurities are removed. The colored enamel is then “wet packed” in between the cloisonne ribbon, fully dried to prevent air bubbles, then fired. There is normally at least 3 applications and firings when working with transparent colored enamels.
When the wetpacking is completed the surface is ground with carborundum and sanded to insure all the enamel is flush with the cloisonne ribbon and the surface is smooth. The “enamel” is then cleaned and ready for the final firing for a glossy or a matte surface, it is then ready to be set in a sterling silver or gold bezel.
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