Category: Linda Connelly Enamels

I thought it fitting at the end of this most momentous and eventful year to write a brief post to mark the close. What a year it has been!

I began in January trying to balance teaching, supporting my elderly, very unwell mother in a care home and working on what would be the best piece I had ever made, culminating in thirty five years of experience and learning. I remember it being a period of extreme stress and anxiety ending in a huge sense of achievement when I looked at the finished piece. I was able to enter it for the 2020 Goldsmiths’ Craftsmanship and Design Awards in the Senior Enamellers and Enamel Painters category. I had no expectation of an award but I was so happy to have made something that I felt worthy to enter.

In February I was invited to the Award Ceremony at Goldsmiths Hall to receive an award although at that time I didn’t know what. I assumed Bronze which is the lowest and you cannot imagine my joy and excitement when my name was called and I heard I had won silver. This was definitely the high point of my year!

The year carried on and it became increasingly obvious that things were really serious. I managed to keep teaching both my Jewellery and Enamelling classes almost to the end of term, just missing the final class. It was a sad day packing up for the final time and not knowing when we would be able to return. It felt like the end of an era as I had taught the Jewellery class continuously for fifteen years, originally as part of the local Adult Education and then privately after I was made redundant by them and purchased all their tools and equipment. At the time of writing I don’t know when I will be able to return and I do not underestimate the extreme difficult in putting together a viable class from scratch. We will see but currently this feels a long time off although I have a small hope that maybe we may be able to run for the summer term 2021.

Overnight my entire life was cancelled with galleries closed, shows cancelled and classes shut down. I was also unable to visit my mother although in truth I had been avoiding that for a few weeks before because I was concerned that I might take the virus into the home. Both my son and I were regularly attending classes in a London so I had a very real fear that this was a strong possibility. Of course at that time I had no appreciation of how the situation would deteriorate.

The one bright side was that I was in Lockdown with my husband and son. The weather was mostly good so we were able to spend a lot of time working in separate areas of the garden, coming together for lunch on the patio. I discovered the benefits of shopping in my local farm shops as opposed to just the supermarket and my shopping habits have changed completely as a result. It is a much nicer experience, especially once they opened up a take away coffee stall meaning my son wanted to join me for the ‘outing’. You come to appreciate small things like time to chat in the car, beautiful scenery, music on the radio and a good cup of coffee at the end, not to mention delicious local food and easily the best bread I have ever tasted!

Life continued until the second week of April when I suddenly heard my mother was ill. She died the next day from covid. I don’t know what else to say about this except to say how grateful I was for all the support especially from husband and son plus Jyppy the dog of course.

The week before I had began a series of posts with weekly Staff Meetings by way of recording the situation and also trying to provide some light relief for readers and supporters. These followed the work by the Head of Security and Head of Emotional Support (dog), Chief Food Taster and Technical Officer (son), Head of Maintenance (husband) and Chair, Designer, Maker, Publicity, Website, Everything else, (yours truly). These continued until the end of the Lockdown.

The loss of my mother in the very distressing and horrible circumstances prompted a period of intense creativity for me and resulted in a lot of new work in new directions. It seems I always respond to upset by turning to my studio to work.

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Many of these pieces above arose as a result of the ACJ invitation to submit work for an exhibition entitled Glasshouses. This led to a hugely inspirational vein of work that occupied me for much of the summer.

There have been technical challenges to overcome too and I am pleased to note that I have made progress with my photography set up and photo editing which is making life easier. I have made videos for technical information and talking about my work. Oh the glamour of doing a voice over under the duvet in the bedroom, hoping the postman doesn’t come and set off the Head of Security! I now have an email list and have done my very first newsletter. All need more work to improve but I have begun! I even launched an online shop on my website. I have to be pleased when I actually stop to think because I have had to learn a lot of new skills! I have also been really focusing on further improving the quality and finish of my enamels and jewellery. For me I think this is the most important. The strive for perfection is continuous and never ending.

This year is one when I think we have all come to appreciate small things like lunch in the garden with family, a walk with friends, and visits to the gardens of National Trust and Wisley RHS. When we have been able to meet people it has been very special. I hope we will never again take these small things for granted. I am hugely grateful to all of my friends and family that have supported me at this time. Thank you.

Galleries were able to reopen briefly and it was good to be able to meet customers in person. I even managed to do one Christmas market which was a local event. It was really lovely to do but hugely tiring for me as a person with limited hearing coping with masks. My normal technique of supplying random answers until the other person stops looking confused didn’t work so well as a stall holder!

What now for 2021? Well I am working on a new special piece which has lots of new challenges and is another new development for me. I am really excited by this and so grateful to be able to work in my studio and have that to focus on each day. I look forward to coffee and more farm shop visits with my son whilst he looks for a job. I enjoy my daily walk with husband and dog and days out to National Trust gardens. I feel lucky to have my family with me and we all enjoy walks with the Head of Security. I really appreciate my followers, former students and of course everyone who has bought my work. Thank you for being with me and for reading my rambles. I wish you all the very best for 2021 and hope for a much better year for us all. Here is hoping that life returns to some semblance of normality soon and that we can continue to appreciate every small thing that improves our day.

Is an artist or craftsman ever truly satisfied with their achievements? An interesting question and whilst I think everyone will have their own answer to this, I think overall the answer is probably ‘no’. A very well known Enamel artist once said to me that it often took many ‘final’ firings before he achieved a finish he could live with. I totally get that! However, over the past year I have worked hard to really improve the final finish of my cloisonné enamel work and I think I am making progress. Here are my latest Hothouse Flower pendants.

Both of these have a beautifully smooth and shiny finish which is I think the hardest to achieve. I am constantly experimenting with technique and both of these used my JoolTool combined with a fire finish and then a final polish with diamond paste using a felt mop in my Foredom pendant motor. Both of these had issues to be resolved during the making. This is usually the case and it is rarely that everything goes absolutely perfectly at every stage. However, the workshop fairies were on my side together with the Kiln gods and I am really happy to say that I can absolutely live with the finish on these pieces.

I decided to experiment making something slightly larger than my usual jewellery. These are still quite small being around 50 mm in diameter. Champlevé enamel with cloisonné detail and hand engraved.

These tiny silver dishes are all on display in the On The Edge exhibition at the Sussex Guild Gallery in Lewes as part of Artwave 2020. Open 7 days a week 10am to 5 pm each day 5th to 20th September 2020.

In Attendance:

Me – Chair, Designer, Maker, Publicity, Website, Everything else

Jyp – Head of Security and Apprentice

Husband – Maintenance Officer

The meeting started at 10 am after our daily exercise

Apologies: Technical Officer and Chief Food Taster

The Chair began by thanking everyone for their best efforts to keep everything going for another week. It was rather emotional on Thursday because this was the day she went to collect her mother’s things and say goodbye to the staff who had cared for her. In the circumstances and due to the current emergency this all had to be done in the car park from a safe distance. It wasn’t a nice way to end things but there you go. She is pleased to report though that she decided to make a donation to the home to pay for a tea party for the staff and residents, hopefully with music and dancing like they have had before. She hopes this may just give them a little fun to help them recover from the terrible trauma they have been through. So many were sick and so many residents lost their lives, although thankfully none of the staff. A terrible time for all concerned.

On another note it has become apparent that the patio and table has been repurposed as a substitute for a library with all the usual restrictions on talking and making a noise. It is hoped that once the Technical Officer has handed in his current assignments it can go back to being a family patio with talking. She is however happy that meal times and barbecues are still permitted! It was for this reason the Technical Officer was unable to attend as he was far to busy and at a critical stage in his studies. This is all fine because she hopes he will get a really good job when he finishes and will therefore be able to take her out for lots of treats!

This week was the first time she had tried to run a virtual social event for both her classes. It was lovely to see everyone and to compare lock down hair! She is expecting to be able to have a pony tail by the time the hair dressers reopen! First time since she was eleven! Maybe she will keep on growing it? We will see.

Head of Security

Jyp continues with his regular patrols and is actively chasing out any enemy visitors! We continue to be visited by enemy agents from the Stripy Faced gang so morning patrols with the Chief Maintenance Officer are ongoing. His Search and Rescue training is proceeding and he has found several tennis balls in the woods. Sadly no lost jewellery items in the Chair’s studio yet! However, his contribution as a Jewellery Apprentice is going well with excellent feedback being given on proposed new designs. He hasn’t made any progress yet with practical tasks but the Chair remains optimistic or maybe simply deluded!

Maintenance Officer

Regular morning patrols are proving essential along with regularly having to block up new tunnels under the fence in order to maintain security and keep the Chief Security Officer on his own property. Regarding maintenance issues he is looking froward to operating on the printer later today as it has a blocked print head. Actually he doesn’t know yet but hopefully will read this and learn just how valued he is!

Technical Officer

The Chair read out a report. Very busy. Enjoying all the nice meals. Please make banana cake for weekend. Don’t talk on patio when working.

Any Other Business.

Dog hair, too much crockery etc all continue to be an issue although everyone’s help is appreciated.

Well the lockdown continues and I am really missing being able to visit the beach. I long to walk along the sand dipping my feet in the sea. I miss walking over the rocks looking for unusual patterns, colours and textures. I have been contemplating trying to make some enamel jewellery around a seaside theme for a while. Having time to look at old photos from beaches in North Norfolk, Cornwall and Northumberland, also good with my sketch book proved to be just the stimulus I needed.

I am developing the habit of setting aside some time on a Sunday afternoon to sit with my pens and pencils to draw. So far this has proved very fruitful with a number of new designs which I hope will develop into new ranges that people will want to buy. The new Seaside Cloisonne Enamels are proving popular and I have sold several now which feels very promising especially as I have yet to list them in my online shop. I hope you like them.

In Attendance:

Me – Chair, Designer, Maker, Publicity, Website, Everything else

Jyp – Head of Security and Apprentice

Husband – Maintenance Officer

Son – Technical Support Officer, Chief Food Taster.

The meeting started at 10 am after our daily exercise

Officers’ Reports

Chair.

The Chair began by thanking everyone for their continued efforts and support. This week had been rather a struggle at times although she was immensely grateful for the support and comfort provided by all the staff. She has planned some class get togethers for next week by Zoom and was really pleased at the positive response to these. If you are reading this and think you should have received one then check your inbox or send her a message. Additionally she has taken part in some online training resulting in a new business Pinterest account being set up and linked to her website. Not an inconsiderate amount of work! She is also working on some new Seaside Enamel earrings and pendants which have been very positively received with several pieces reserved before being finished which is hugely encouraging. It is an idea she has been trying to develop for a few years and it came together during one of her weekly drawing sessions she has started on a Sunday afternoon. The idea was to make pieces that invoke some of the peace and tranquility she feels walking along the beach, dipping her feet in the sea. During these very difficult times and the current emergency it is something that appears to strike a chord with others too. She loves to try and make jewellery that helps people feel a little better and brings them some happiness and the fact this seems to be working makes her very happy.

Head of Security

Jyp was pleased to report that the regular morning patrols were continuing. Additionally he carries out very regular spot checks throughout the day and every time the back door opens. He would really like to do this at all times and and asked if the back door could be left constantly open to facilitate this. The Chair started there was no chance of this and asked him to refrain from constantly barking every time he hears someone next door move around. It was a tad tedious and she was sick of shouting at him to remind him!

Apprentice

Jyp is continuing with his Search and Rescue duties although he has yet to find anything related to items lost in the course of the Chairs work. He was pleased though that he had been able to provide some useful commentary about new designs being worked on so felt he had more than earned his extra treats.

Maintenance Officer

Perimeter patrols continue to take place every morning. We definitely have a stripy faced insurgent targeting our property. At this stage it is unclear whether he is a lone operative or part of a larger force. Whilst we are keen to welcome and encourage wildlife there are serious concerns if it threatens the integrity of our security and borders. He is also anxious about the safety of his vegetables although most are netted or in manger beds so damage is under control currently. We are all starting to enjoy salad leaves and looking forward to radishes in the next week. A welcome addition to our weekly salad farm box. The Chair thanked him for his efforts.

Technical Support Officer

Son reported that from his study area at the end of the garden he had observed the Head of Security repeatedly jumping up to peer over the six foot fence that is all that separates him from next doors Head of Security. It is fair to say that next doors’ Head of Security regards it as rather provocative to keep seeing Jyps face as he jumps and barks simultaneously. He has indicated that there will be severe consequences should Jyp jump too high and inadvertently land in his garden! The Chair very firmly reminded Jyp this was totally unacceptable and on no account should he be tempted to mount an incursion into enemy territory! Vets were very expensive and she really didn’t want to be collecting body parts in a basket to be stitched back together! In his role as Chief Food Taster son was very complimentary about the new recipes tried their week. The Cauliflower, pea and paneer curry was an unexpected triumph!

General Business.

The dog hair, mud and excessive crockery and glasses being used continues to be a problem although all staff are contributing to the dishwasher filling and emptying so this is good. New grooming gloves are being trialled and hopefully will help reduce the dog hair in the house. This is also good.

The meeting ended. The next staff meeting is scheduled for a weeks time unless anything very important comes up before.

In Attendance:

Me – Chair, Designer, Maker, Publicity, Website, Everything else

Jyp – Head of Security and Apprentice

Husband – Maintenance Officer

Son – Technical Support Officer, Chief Food Taster.

The meeting started at 10 am after our daily exercise

Officers’ Reports

Chair.

The Chair began by complimenting all the staff on a supreme effort to ensure that her mother’s funeral went well. All performed their duties exceptionally well Special thanks and appreciation to the Technical Support Officer for a sublime performance of Ashokan Farewell on his violin. His grandmother would have been very proud. There was a slight concern as several family members present were reminiscing over inappropriate behaviour that the Head of Security had allegedly indulged in during a meeting earlier this year before the current emergency, with one of the family. The Chair was rather embarrassed to hear of this and Head of Security was reminded that any convictions in court regarding this would result in serious disciplinary action!

Additionally we enjoyed festivities on VE Day with home made scones and some bubbles on the patio. With everything else going on it seemed appropriate to be grateful that we weren’t currently at war as well! The Chair also reported that she had to make an unplanned visit to the Urgent Care Centre at the hospital as her wrist was still painful from her fall several weeks ago. The good news was that the queue wasn’t too bad and she hadn’t broken it so presumably in time it will get better. She is managing to work although she keeps over doing things and making it hurt more! Oops. Understandably work has been tricky this week but she has been making some new Seaside Enamels that she is really excited by. She is concentrating on making pieces that bring her peace and make her remember some happier times. Hopefully some people will want to buy them when they are finished.

Head of Security

Jyp stated that he and the Maintenance Officer are continuing to carry out a patrol of the perimeter every morning. They regularly discover more small holes providing further evidence of insurgence activity in the garden area. Further surveillance is required in order to ascertain their identity. The Head of Security was asked to seek contact with their special envoy to ascertain their aims and objectives and to try and negotiate that they seek alternative routes. The current situation was untenable as it brings about the almost inevitable meeting between him and next doors Head of Security which is a situation that must be avoided at all costs!

Apprentice

Jyp stated he had been kept very busy doing Emotional Support and Head of Security duties and was continuing with his search and rescue training. No precious metals had been found yet but he was very pleased to report he had found a ball belonging to next doors Head of Security which was most pleasing!

Maintenance Officer

Husband reported that he was continuing to carry out a daily inspection of the boundaries with the Head of Security. He reiterated the concerns over insurgents activities in the garden area and was kept very busy blocking up homes on a daily basis. Additionally they had dug up his peas so he really wasn’t happy!

Technical Support Officer

Son reported that he was continuing to work and progress was very good on his assignments and he was pleased that his playing had gone well at the funeral. Additionally he has cooked another lasagne for the family and continues to enjoy the range of meals being cooked by the Chair and for the daily barista duties performed by the Chief Maintenance Officer.

General Business

Dog hair, mud, exceeds glasses and crockery continue to be a problem. One thing is that there aren’t any visitors so does it matter? This is a topic for further debate, preferably with a glass of a nice warm red or a crispy dry white one.

The meeting ended. The next staff meeting is scheduled for a weeks time unless anything very important comes up before.