Enamel Guild/ North East was conceived through the leadership of Marilyn Druin with a handful of enamelists who saw the need for a large regional association to accommodate the growing interest in the field.  The territory was described as all the states in the northeast from Maine to Pennsylvania but happily includes many members from elsewhere.

     In January of 1992, the Enamel Guild/ North East was christened at a meeting at the Newark Museum. At this first meeting there were 41 charter members. Officers and a board were chosen. Subsequently a constitution, by laws and our incorporation as a non profit organization were established.

     Marian Slepian, a founding member, received a bequest of an enamel workshop from William Paterson State College and in conjunction with a grant from the First Mountain Crafters Guild set up an enamels workshop at the Newark Museum. This gave the fledgling Guild a home for future meetings, workshops and annual seminars.

     Each year since 1992, we have held our annual seminar in the spring. These are accompanied by workshops and have been graced by the presence of noted speakers and teachers. Some of our outstanding guests include: James Carter, John Cogswell, Linda Darty, James Doran, Jennie Gore, William Harper, Bill Helwig, Chris Hentz, John Killmaster, Robert M. Kulicke, Rebekah Laskin, Barbara Minor, Robert Lee Morris, Mel Someroski , Valeri Timofeev, Kenneth Trapp, Jean Tudor, Jan Yager.

     The Guild sponsors members’ exhibits at various locations within the northeast area. A biennial group project was instituted in 1995. We create a mural of individual enameled pieces done by the members and then it is donated to a deserving non-profit organization. They have been given to hospitals in Maine and New York City and mental health institutions in New Jersey and New York.

     After Marilyn Druin’s death in 2001, a scholarship fund was established in her memory that is used for the furtherance of enamel education.

     The Enamel Guild/North East has actively promoted the art of enamels and has achieved the status of having the largest membership (approximately 100) of any regional guild in the US and we keep in touch through newsletters, Our Guild takes exhibit space at the biennial conference of the International Enamelist Society and several of our members currently serve on that Board.

This page is current as of June 26th, 2005