Carolyn Delzoppo has been working with cloisonne enamel for more than thirty years, and this is so evident in her rich colours and delicate lines.
Inspired by all things botanical, she spends many hours in her own garden observing the myriad changes in each season, taking pictures and drawing in her sketchbook. With so many beautiful plant forms in her enamels, I am intrigued to see what kind of garden she has – I’m sure it would be completely fabulous!
botanica – brooch – 2002
Cloisonne is an ancient technique that fuses coloured ground glass onto a metal surface, using small wires to separate and define areas of colour. However, Carolyn tries to preserve some of the spontaneity of her original drawings when applying the silver wires, and allows the colour to move in and around the lines – a tricky balancing act in this very exacting medium. And I love her colours! So clear and jewel-like.
brooch – 2004
What are your childhood experiences and memories of craft and/or design?
I have a rural working class family background. There wasn’t much design or craft in our lives. I always drew and painted though from a young age. I was fortunate to have had a very supportive art teacher in high school who helped convince my mum that going to art school in the town 12 miles away was a good thing. For me, it was better even than finishing school and going to university. I am still surprised to this day that it actually happened.
Are there any creative people in your family background? Especially any that influenced you?
My mum could draw very well but never did. She’d been a draughtswoman and map maker during the war and had an exact eye. My uncle always bought art supplies for me for birthdays and such and gave me the first set of 36 coloured pencils I had ever seen. It was so beautiful that I had trouble using them – I didn’t want to spoil the set. I used to spend hours though rearranging the pencils, putting different colours together and seeing what they looked like next to each other. You already are what you will become!
pendant – 2010
pendant – 2010
What has been the hardest single obstacle to your life in craft?
The hardest thing for any artist is balancing time. Income earning as against creative time. It is never satisfactory. When I was in my early 20’s I made a decision then not to pursue a career (I was a graphic designer) but to accept a simpler and poorer life in exchange for my time being my own. I have never regretted this decision. Most people cannot have both time and money – we have to choose. So I live a quiet life and sometimes get to make art. The need to make income is still there however and it’s still a juggle.
night and day – brooch – 2011
Who do you admire (other artists/designers; other people generally)? What/who are your biggest influences, past or present?
I admire any creative people who make inspiring work that communicates something of themselves or the subject. I also admire the artists and artisans who preserve traditional hand skills and who pass these skills on through teaching and an open attitude about knowledge. There have been many influences and enamellers who I admire. My favourite enamels of all time are Byzantine enamels – icons, medallions and crosses. Tiny cloisonné portraits of religious figures, full of love and devotion and so very expressive. If I could time travel for just an hour, I would like to be an invisible visitor to a workshop of these anonymous medieval craftsmen.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
As an artist – follow your instincts.
As a jeweller – when I asked a jeweller how to get the scratches off of a piece I had made and was trying to polish – the answer was – don’t put them there in the first place. Still good advice 30 years later!
from the garden – brooch – 2009
Carolyn’s work is available through various galleries, including Beaver Galleries in Canberra, and Studio Fusion, South Bank, London. More of Carolyn Delzoppo’s work can be found on her website here.
Images and quotes used with kind permission from Carolyn Delzoppo.