This was a really
exciting commission that I got from Beeken Parson Furniture
in Vermont. They had a client whose last name was also
Crowe, and whose wife's maiden name was Lamb and they had
commissioned a table that included these images.
I had only just started
making pieces in the grisaille technique - so I didn't have
the level of confidence that I did with champleve, which I
had been doing for over 20 years.
What this meant was
that I made a lot more samples before beginning the actual
project. In order to show the clients what I could do I made
two crow samples:
I sent the first one as
my bid for the commission and happily the client liked it so
much that they bought it! And I got the commission.
Now I had other things
to think about. They didn't want the traditional grisaille
on black, as the wood for the table was to be light. I made
a few samples on browns, but realised that I would have to
see the wood before I moved on. So Beeken Parsons sent me a
sample of the gorgeous burled maple. It then became clear
that the base colour I would use would be mocha.
The small crow and lamb
here were the last samples I made before beginning the
project
I needed to begin by
soldering some posts on the back of the circles. Not being
an experienced solderer I took them to my good friend
Charles Jevons.
But from there - I
chronicled the whole process by making videos as I went
along,
The large piece in the
centre was a particular challenge, as it was 11" in
diameter (larger than I had ever made before. In fact it was
so large that I couldn't make it in my kilns. George Brown
College generously allowed me to use their kilns - but it
meant that I didn't have much time.
