Campbell Folk School Enameling Class

By Dennis HindsMore from this author

Updated on February 15, 2018

I recently had the opportunity to teach teenagers enameling at one of my favorite places in the world, John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. I was a bit nervous about teaching for two reasons: first because I have never taught an enameling class there before and two the age group is younger than my normal age group students at the College where I usually teach. As it turned out I had no cause to be nervous. The kids absolutely loved the enameling process and boy did they produce. Many of the other instructors told me stories about how their students sat and talked instead of working but that was not my situation. I even had a hard time getting my students to go to lunch and leave at the end of class. All you enamellist will understand that feeling.

Thanks to the generous donation from Thompson Enamel, we had lots of enamel with which to work. It soon became clear which colors most students favored. Nitric Blue and Woodrow Red were some of the top contenders. They worked mostly on 30 gauge copper fold mainly because of the cost of materials, and the results were spectacular. Some of the objects were feathers and leaves made from basically the same technique; fold the copper for the quill, cut the feather shape, open it back up and scribe in the lines of the feather on both sides of the symmetrical object. The transparent enameled feathers or leaves were then put on top of small wooden boxes that had been stained and varnished along with an opaque enamel back round. I was very proud of the finished products as well as the enthusiasm the kids had doing the enameling. It was only later in the week I heard about a few minor burns or cuts, nothing serious. It was extremely satisfying to see youngsters so interested in a process that we all love. I hope to go back next year and do it all over again. Thank you Thompson Enamel, Guido in particular, for helping us have such a great week and to expose future Enamelists to this great art form. I know they appreciated it. They all said they would be back next year.

Dennis Hinds Enamelist Covington, Louisiana

By Dennis Hinds [Volume 25, Number 5, December, 2006]

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