INTERview | Katharine Wood 2

The guild is most pleased to invite back Katharine Wood, one of founders of the EGNE – and a second generation enamellist. Her mother Antonia Holding Schwed (1919-2006) was a master of the champlevé enameling technique. Katharine has been an active member of the guild and a teacher in the NY Metro area for many years. In the guise of full disclosure I will admit that a few years back, my very first enamel class was her 4 day Enamel Marathon! I was smitten! She certainly communicates her enthusiasm for the medium, is a very generous spirit and a very dedicated teacher. She is extremely knowledgeable about a variety of techniques and is always experimenting and growing as well as encouraging her students. Kathy embraces all technical challenges that come with enameling. For some background refer back to her EGNE INTERview from 2015. Today we’ve invited her to talk about the class she will be offering at this years conference and a little about what she is working on now.

CS : What are you working on in your own studio now? – is there a particular interest- or inspiration?

KW: I am actually working on several cloisonné pieces. After ‘ignoring’ cloisonné for a number of years, I have fallen in love again.

CS: Have you noticed any new and interesting enamel work recently (in your travels among students, at shows etc?

KW: My students are always doing interesting work, from tiny precise pieces of jewelry to large wall pieces. Also, vessels and sculpture.

Quite a few like to experiment, and I find that both inspiring and challenging.

CS: Do you have a favorite enameling technique?

KW: Well, my first love has always been champlevé (whatever you can draw, you can etch!), but I go through ‘phases,’ such as grisaille. But right now I am thoroughly enamored with cloisonné. I think I am doing some of my best work right now.

CS: Tell us about the workshop you will be offering at the EGNE conference. It’s called “cloissonné and beyond” What do you mean by that, and what inspired you to take this approach? Do you think it is an unusual approach to this technique?

KW: Because of my recent re-involvement with cloisonné, I was excited to do a workshop on that technique. But I didn’t want it to be just a cut and dried ‘how to’ class. While certain basics will be covered, I want to show how to break away from some of the rigidity that can be part of cloisonné.

Cloisonné is actually an embeddable, and incorporating other types of embeddables can make a richer and more complex piece. Also, different methods of application and unorthodox approaches to color and shading can create an unusual and stunning piece. Some of the pieces I am currently making are fairly traditional, while others are very different. One approach, which is very interesting–and instructive–is to make the same design in a traditional format and then in an unusual and completely different way.

Samples of cloisonné (embeddable) techniques.

Katharine Wood received her BA from Boston University. She has taught at the Newark Museum, Craft Students League, Museum of Arts and Design, and Princeton University. Her work has been published in Metalsmith and Glass on Metal magazines. Ms. Wood was a featured artist in the publications The Art of Fine Enameling, and Enameling with Professionals. Kathy has been awarded numerous awards and has work in private collections, including the permanent collections of: The Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, MA), The Cooper Hewitt, The Newark Museum (NJ), The Woodrow Carpenter Foundation Enamel Museum (KY), and The Enamel Arts Foundation (CA). Kathy is a founding member of Enamel Guild / North East. She is also the co-creator of internationally used transfer etching technique for enamelists, metalsmiths, and jewelers and continues to exhibit nationally and internationally.