The FireWorks Exhibition was held on 13 June – 10 July 2004.

Twenty five members of the British Society of Enamellers took part in the exhibition ‘Fire-Works’. The 192 pieces showed work ranging from the smallest earrings to guest exhibitor Dale Devereux Barker’s large steel panels, three of which hung in the patio outside the entrance to the Garden Gallery at the Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock.

The educational section of the exhibition was housed in the Brew House Gallery, a room of great character attached to the Garden Gallery. Most of the information was presented through a step-by-step display. Ruth Ball’s delightful series of samples were set out in three cases, each case presenting a different process. Techniques covered included cloisonné, champlevé, and plique-á-jour. A fourth case contained a similar series of pieces by Gillie Hoyte Byrom, which explained the process of painting on enamel.

On the wall of the Brew House Gallery hung photographs of large scale enamelling in progress and Van Long’s panels explaining the technique by which she produced her work in the exhibition. Pat Johnson’s small samples explained the techniques of making images freehand with jewellery enamel and with Thermal Imager screens, and Vladimir Böhm’s test panels showed his investigations of white enamels. One large free standing case contained displays of enamelling equipment and the techniques of combing, sgrafitto and stencilling as practiced by Van Long. A second large case held samples of high firing and three-dimensional work by Pat Johnson and Jean Merritt.

In the main gallery, collaborative pieces were exhibited by Ann Gover, Annie Appleyard, and Ruth Ball. Ann Gover produced a miniature enamelled panel which was seated on a small silver easel made by Barbie McClure. Annie Appleyard placed exquisitely enamelled bowls within larger wooden bowls turned by William Richmond. For one bowl she also made an enamelled border which sat on a broad wooden rim. The brightly coloured collage, which combined Ruth Ball’s enamelled squares with the fabrics of Mary Brodie, will be shown in detail in the winter issue of ‘enamel‘.

Fire-Works was attended by 1260 visitors, an increase of 25% on the previous exhibition, and sales doubled. The Demonstration Day, which was conducted by Rosemary Zeeman and Chris Walker, had 158 visitors.

Comments in the visitor’s book were very encouraging. ‘What an exciting exhibition. Full of good stuff and selling well’, ‘Beautiful and quite stunning exhibition’, ‘The most inspiring exhibition of creative work I have seen for a long time’, and ‘Outstanding, imaginative work - well presented’ were typical of the visitor’s remarks. Many mentioned and appreciated the educational section, which was borne out by the museum staff who spoke to visitors.

Corinne Julius, a journalist writing for the Evening Standard in London, spoke at the private view. She said that she found the work on display ‘ gentle, deliberate, and refined’. She also commented that she would like to write more about enamelling but ‘it is not easy to find’. Having been concerned with aspects of the Crafts Council, Corinne is aware of the contemporary success of both glass and silversmithing. Since enamelling lies between the two, she encouraged practitioners to increase their efforts to draw attention to their work. From the response of visitors over the fou rweeks of the exhibition, certainly Fire-Works has been a step in the right direction.

Scroll down this page to see pictures of the exhibits.