By way of introduction – and as we are just entering a brand new year – I though I would write about some of my main projects of 2011 and what 2012 holds for me.

Between 2007 and 2011 I was employed full time working on a research fellowship with the rather unwieldy title of Innovation in Vitreous Enamel Surface for Jewellery. The project had both a practical and a theoretical strand and investigated the place of enamel within contemporary jewellery practice. Although the project was completed in September 2010 one of the research outcomes, a major international enamel jewellery exhibition, gained a life beyond the period of the post and was one of my major preoccupations during 2011. The organization of this project coincided with my first year as an independent artist so curating the show whilst trying to build up my jewellery business has been a challenge. The exhibition Substance and Substance – International Contemporary Enamel Jewellery – which includes a number of the Heat Exchange artists – is now in its final few weeks at Ruthin Craft Centre in Wales.

2011 was also the year in which I moved into a new studio space (photos coming soon). This is the first time I have had a studio outside my home in about 15 years so it has been a bit of a slow start and making the break from the little studio at the back of the house that overlooks my garden has been difficult. I plan to keep this room as my enamelling studio for the time being and see if this proves to be a practical arrangement.

The first few months of 2012 will be spent developing new work, not only for Heat Exchange but also for a major enamel show at Galerie Handwerk in Munich in March. Both these projects are very exciting and I am hoping that between them they will give me an opportunity to build on the technical research I undertook during my fellowship – I’ll keep you posted.

A happy new year to you all.

Jessica Turrell          Bristol, UK

Jessica Turrell

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