We sent some Patterned Wire we had sitting around the studio to our friend Terri McCarthy at Terri McCarthy Studios in Grafton, WI. Jan Harrell, an excellent enameling artist and metalsmith, was teaching an enameling class. Jan’s work is an exploration of textures and shapes, enamel and metal finishes, shiny and dull surfaces, as well as solid and see-through forms. Her and her students were able to incorporate some of the wire into their enameling projects!
The first two pieces were designed by Scott Boyd, a student in Jan’s class. Scott was able to use our 20 gauge “Maze” Copper Patterned Wire in the first piece. This piece works great with the wire, and has just the right amount of detail. His second piece features the “Leaves” Copper Wire. This piece is simple and refined and shows how versatile the Copper Wire can be.
The bottom two pieces were created by Jan. The piece on the left uses a Copper Bezel Wire in a unique way! She even was able to add a little color in the circles of the wire for a little something extra. The last piece uses our “Round Stud” Copper Wire. Not only was she able to incorporate the wire in her piece, but she even added texture using the wire to tie it all together.
These are four great examples of thinking “outside the box” with this unique wire. Enamels and Patterned Wire work perfectly together, and open up a world of exciting design possibilities.
