So far the year has been very busy. So busy in fact, that I feel somewhat disoriented because I am not getting enough time in my studio. As I get older I have realized how much quiet time alone with my creative process centers me and lets me do all the other things in my professional life.Earlier this year my work was simultaneously being shown at a reception following a San Francisco Symphony concert, a tribute exhibition for Michelle Obama at a gallery in downtown Oakland, California, and an enamel invitational in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. This month I will be in a group invitational at a gallery space in one of the Bay Area’s largest hospitals. Later this year I have been invited to show my work in South Korea. I guess that by the end of this year my work will have traveled more than I have. My exhibition schedule is the busiest it has ever been.
Because of my teaching and administrative duties at The Crucible and my role as coordinator of the upcoming juried enamel exhibition sponsored by the Northern California Enamel Guild, I have cut back on my craft show schedule. See my events page on this site for more details.
I continue to make the small wall pieces that are based on aerial topographies and were inspired by a hot balloon trip I took over the farm lands near Sacramento, California.
PIC
The original inspiration for all my work is the now out of print book, Experimental Techniques in Enameling, written by the late Fred Uhl Ball. In recent years Ball’s work has undergone a revival and I have started teaching a course and workshops about Ball’s techniques. Recently I taught a Ball workshop in Los Angeles and when I returned I found out that I was being hired as a consultant for the restoration of one of Ball’s most seminal pieces in Sacramento, California. The Way Home consists of over 1100 12″ x 12″ enameled copper tiles which form the side of the Macy’s parking garage. I have already started working on the project.
PIC
My enameled light switch covers are still available for sale on Etsy. I will be putting a few at a time online. Remember, when they are gone, they are gone! To see current offerings, visit Etsy. Or contact me to find out about remaining switch covers.
This from Judy Morman, dated Aug 12, 2012:
I am happy to see you working on the Ball restoration. I am contacting you because I purchased a large number of Thompson Enamels over twenty years ago from an enamelist shop in Sacramento Ca. At the time I was told that Mr. Ball bought many of the enamels he used on that piece from them. I still have many pounds of Thompson Leaded enamels that date from the 1970′s. If you might be interested in purchasing some of them, please contact me. Most are in pristine condition in the original Thompson 1lb. bottles. I can send you my inventory list if you are interested.
– Sincerely Judy Morman