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.

Workshop Leaders Through the Years:

1994  Bill Helwig (Grisalle)
      Susan Sloan (Cold Connections)
1995  Mel Someroski (Psychology of Seeing
      Color)
      Valeri Timofeev (Soldering Techniques)
1996  Galina Selezneva (Russian Painting
      Enamel Techniques)
      Jan Yager (Hydraulic Press) 
1997  John Cogswell (Findings & Fasteners
            for Enamels)
1998  Mary Chuduk (Experimental Enameling)
1999  Jean Tudor (Cloisonné – Beyond the
      Usual)
      Yoshi Marubashi (Wax Carving)
2000  Barbara Minor (Pattern Development)
      Christopher Hentz (Soldering/
      Fabrication- Steps-Rules-Tools)
2001  Marne Ryan (Metal Texturing)
      Coral Lee Shaffer (Foil Techniques
      for Enameling)
      Milton Naham (Tricks of the Trade)
2002  Jenny Gore (Foil Reticulation)
      James Duran (Trompe L’oeil)
      Becky Brannon (Fused Beads)
2003  Symposium – Marilyn Druin Retrospective
      Harlan Butt (Tips, Tricks & Techniques
      in Enameling)
      Linda Darty (Limoges with Sifting &
      Painting Enamels)
      Speakers: Jamie Bennett, Harlan Butt,
      Linda Darty, Ulysses Dietz, Patricia
      Kiley Faber, Michael Good, Nancy
      Levine, Geraldine Vasquez, Janet
      Zapata
2004  James Malenda (Enameling on Tubular
      Forms)
      Anne Larsen Hollenbach (3-D Forming)
      Wendy Yothers (Mending Broken Hearts –
      Repairs)
2005  Solveig Haukaas (Experimental Copper
      with Foils)
      Fay Rooke (Pierced Plique-a-Jour)
      Sue Sachs (Cold Connections)
2006  Helen Elliott (Changing the Face of
      Enamels)
      Tom Ellis (Painting and Separation
      Enamels)_
      Isabella Corwin (Design and Color for
      Enamelists)
2007  Linda Darty (Etching on Silver –
      Working with Enamels Colors)
      Mi-Sook Hur (Water-based Acrylic and
      Techniques)
      Angelo Palmiere (Purchasing Colored
      Gem Stones)
2008  Jamie Bennett (Fine Painting Techniques
      with Enamel)
      Mary Chuduk (Hollow Copper Beads and
      Small Forms)
2009  Sarah Perkins (The Art of Line)
      Diane Reilly (Scratching the Surface)
2010  Gretchen Goss (Photographic Transfers
      on Enamels)
      Barbara Seidenath (Low Tech Etching &
      Stone Settings)

This page is current as of April 26th, 2010