email: bsoe@designden.plus.com

I could not have received a better grounding having trained with Phil Barnes – as his indentured apprentice, then assistant from 1990-1995 – yet for me the discipline of enamelling is still pure alchemy. Whether bold or subtle, the depth of colour and ‘fire’ within its glazed layers is magical. I find it very tactile and textural – that is why I engrave the metal beneath the enamel to add to its depths.

I enjoy playing with colour – subtly mixing, merging, refining it – and exploring the textual finishing of the surrounding metal to break down the ‘barrier’ between glass and metal. Obviously I gain inspiration from natural, organic sources so that is probably why straight lines, sharp angles and vast shiny surfaces leave me cold.

My work can be seen at Studio Fusion, OXO Tower London, and The Stone Gallery, Burford, Oxon.