Seeing the wide variety of design and enamel decoration that is possible on pure copper bowls leads me to wonder what inspires us all? For me, it is often pattern or colour combinations in nature or my local environment, (I take a lot of photographs!) and I am particularly fond of lichens, mosses, rocks on the sea shore, wild flowers and the autumnal colour spectrum.
Here are a couple of examples of my own personal inspiration and the accompanying enamelled bowls they led me to make. The first picture is of a small enamelled (no: 6) bowl, inspired by a walk along a Norfolk beach and the sea holly flowers growing on top of the dunes. In a hardy windswept environment, these prickly sculptural flowers stand firm against the elements, with their umbrella shaped thorny petals and pastel palette of aquamarine, white and pale lime green. I love their form and delicate patterns. This one was enamelled with Thompson unleaded opaque and transparent enamels.
The second bowl in contrast is inspired by the wealth of June flowers currently blooming on a bankside garden. Bright red poppies dancing in the breeze in the mornings, shedding their tissue paper petals by evening. A brief and immensely colourful display. I used a leaded bright red enamel for the inside of this bowl, (a "Chinese Red" I think, its label was worn and peeling off, an odd pot of enamel I had inherited from a friend ) sadly this was the last of it!
It's always the way, the favourite colours are hard to come by or to repeat!
What inspires you? I'd love to know! Send me a photo of your enamelled bowls and I will post them up with any information you'd like to share about your favourite enamels on copper too!
Look forward to hearing from you! Eleanor www.copperbowls.co.uk
Comments