Heat Exchange

I am Kathleen Browne, head of Jewelry/Metals/Enameling at Kent State University in Kent, OH and am excited about participating in Heat Exchange and am ready to jump into this with some images of my progress.

I have been working with hand-screened enamel decals for about 12 years (a process I learned at the Centre for Fine Print Research at UWE in Bristol-Thanks, Elizabeth!).  Photography has been at the center of my practice for many years and decals made from my own photographs or from appropriated photos seemed to just make sense.

Below are a couple of images form the “Daily Confidential” series.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After completing the “Rhinestone” series ( 2 images below) in 2010, I decided to take a break and work on some new ideas-break away from the jewelry conventions I always used in my work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had been teaching students how to weld copper for years –every since we had Deb Lozier in for a workshop- but I had never really done anything with the process for my own work.

I took the opportunity while participating in last fall’s exhibition, “Surface and Substance” (curated by Jessica Turrell) to produce some work that marked a turn in my practice.

This small body of work titled, Treasure, was a response to a beautiful collection of 19^th and early 20^th century jewelry that was discovered after the passing of one of the members of my family.  As I researched the jewelry and its history, I uncover filial relationships and family milestones that were marked by the giving of jewelry.  I photographed a number of these jewels and converted them to enamel decals.  These “jewel” images sit of the surfaces of organic “fleshy” forms, I have created, like a mark or tattoo on the body in the same way that family history marks and shapes who we are.

 

 

 

 

 

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I see this work as transitional and the work that I am making for Heat Exchange marks a new approach to the photo for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For “Heat Exchange” I have had commercial decals made from some of my photographs. This provides a very detailed and colorful image.  I am struggling a bit with their “exactness” and detail but the challenge is very invigorating.

Here are some preliminary images of the works in progress.  I will start welding this week.  One of the hardest bits of problem solving has been how to build the pin finding structures into the pieces before I weld them!