email: hilaryjbolton@hotmail.com

The fusion of glass and metal always surprises and excites me. There are deliberate contradictions in the visual delicacy and fragility of work made from hard, strong and durable materials.

Antique textiles are an inspiration, particularly fragments of material with torn edges and loose threads. I like to present my enamels in the same way that such delicate textiles are displayed in museums.

Working with .4mm copper, I enjoy the feel and weight of the thin metal and can bend and manipulate it with ease.

To begin with I concentrate on the edges, cutting, hammering and etching, It is possible to obtain marvellous qualities using an oxyacetylene torch and rolling the copper like fabric. I work straight onto the copper using a variety of etching resists to obtain different qualities in the surface texture of the copper. The metal is etched until much of it is very thin and fragile. The textures of the metal beneath the enamel will form an integral part of the piece.

I want my work to give an illusion of depth and have a quality of glassiness with some of the intensity of stained glass. It is therefore rather satisfying when people bang their heads against the wall in the attempt to peer behind the enamels in the belief there is some actual depth behind.