CJ Day
Adults from around the Laramie area had the chance to learn a thing or two about art Sat. during an art workshop hosted by the University of Wyoming Art Museum.
Those who came learned how to apply enamel to metal in a kiln, and had the opportunity to make their very own pieces of enamel art, all under the tutelage of UW Professor of Metalsmithing, Leah Hardy.
“It’s all about building a sense of play, “ said Hardy. “It’s a way for people to extend their artistic language and add to the vocabulary they can use when they talk about art.”
During the workshop, participants learned how to apply enamel designs to copper backing. In the enameling process, powdered glass is applied to a copper backing, then fired at high heat in a kiln. This fuses the glass to the copper, and gives enamel its trademark smooth, hard appearance. The class was intended to be just an introduction to enameling, but cancellations allowed Hardy to go a bit deeper and instruct on advanced techniques.
“It’s a shame that not as many people came as we were expecting,” said Hardy, “But it freed up a lot of time, and I got the opportunity to go more in depth and teach even more things.”
Some of these advanced techniques included sgraffito, where wire is used to give the enamel a raised, snake-like look, and plique-a-jour, where the copper backing is strategically removed in places to give the enamel the look of stained glass.
Cassa Massine, an elementary school art teacher in Laramie who came to the workshop, used advanced techniques like those in her art. She did not come to the event for any job-related reason, rather, she came because she wanted to learn.
“It’s a rare thing,” she said, “to have such a positive way to spend a Saturday.”
The UW Art Museum held this event to tie in with their faculty exhibition. Every three years, faculty at the University of Wyoming have the chance to display their personal work in the Art Museum. Their pieces are currently on display there and will be until the end of Feb.
Hardy is one of the many artists with pieces on display. Her workshop was one of many held this semester to encourage those in the Laramie community to interact with art on a more personal level.
“We see it as an opportunity to introduce people in the community to art,” said Katie Christensen, the Art Museum’s Curator of Education and Statewide Engagement. “People come to the faculty exhibition, and they see all this art, and the art workshop lets them interact with this art directly, with the artist that made it, and that’s not something you get very often.”
Christensen said while the museum has worked to hold workshops for children and college students in the past, this event is part of a recent effort to improve its offerings for older people.
The event is the second in a series of workshops this semester aimed at adults. The first, held in Sept., focused on the ins and outs of printmaking. With these programs, there has been a focus on allowing members of the public to use industrial equipment that they would not otherwise have access to.
“You know, you can’t really do enameling without a kiln,” said Christensen. “So you have this technique that otherwise is pretty easy, that people can’t really do without specialized equipment. In this workshop, we let people use the kiln, and they get to see what it’s like to use these tools.”
Hardy had similar views on the workshop.
“It’s an access point for people, it allows them to exercise their creativity in a new way, and hopefully they come out of it with a greater appreciation for what we do,” she said.
Christensen said she does not want to speculate on what different people get out of art classes, but she does see some benefit to coming.
“I think it’s very dependent on the person what they’re going to get out of the workshop,” said Christensen. “I just hope that they see the creative benefit.”
While this most recent workshop will be the last of the semester, the Art Museum is free to the public, and allows UW students the ability to see art from many different cultures and in many different mediums. Christensen urged all students who have not seen the faculty exhibition to go to the museum and take in the art.
