back to America

I have returned! I am back from my trip to China and am currently recovering from the brutal jet lag. The trip was exciting, eye-opening, and welcomely tiresome as our hosts filled each day with tours, meetings, banquets, and site-seeing.

One of the many highlights of the trip was visiting a Cloisonné factory. We were lucky enough to see artists at work as they meticulously used copper wire to create elaborate designs on the vases.

I remember cloisonne from my high school art days and frankly it's hard as heck to complete let alone stay sane throughout the tedious process. Knowing this allowed me to appreciate these women and their artwork at a much higher level. If you're not familiar with the cloisonne process and would like to know the history, you can read about it here. My short version is this:

*artists solder metal wiring to a base

*the wiring serves as a compartmental design outline

*the artist fills each compartment with enamel-over and over again

*the cloisonne is fired in a kiln

*voila! shiny cloisonne

Enjoy the pics of their studio space below.