Following a 2018 week-long 'Painting with Enamel' workshop at Metalwerx in Waltham, MA with Linda Darty, my first foray into enamelling since 2011, I continued to experiment with transparent Japanese leaded enamels in a series I affectionately refer to as 'The Girls'. Inspired by my interest in tattoos, William Morris' flora and fauna, and concepts surrounding ornamentation and body ownership and control, this series remains intermittently in progress.
As of 2019, one has been incorporated into a 'finished' piece entitled 'Behind Every Great Woman is a Dickface' (pictured below on pink satin).
'The Girls' Series, 2018-Present
Copper, fine silver, Japanese leaded enamel,
cloisonné
Photo credit: Veronica Sage McAvoy
The Tangents Series, 2011
The Tangents Series is based in aesthetic manipulation of form and derives inspiration from nature without being conventionally organic. Instead the pieces and the process take cues from the more imperceptible order of the natural world.
The process begins with blank surfaces that are folded and spliced in large numbers and later edited. The chosen models are fabricated in silver or enameled copper as rings, brooches, and neckpieces. They evolve instinctively, growing to incorporate hidden or unexpected elements such as facets of gold or raw crystals. The crystals, though they contrast with the minimal silver forms, are an explicit reference to the geometry and preciousness that has been my inspiration. The work attempts to capture nature’s mystery as well as its effortless grace and unexpected surprises.
Prices upon request.
©Kara Bargmann Copper, enamel, linen; scored, hand-formed 2011 Photo: Eliot Wright
©Kara Bargmann Sterling silver, 24-karat gold plated; hand-fabricated 2011 Photo: Eliot Wright
©Kara Bargmann Copper, enamel, linen; scored, hand-formed 2011 Photo: Eliot Wright
©Kara Bargmann Sterling silver, fine silver, 14-karat gold, keum-boo, raw smokey quartz; hand-fabricated 2011 Photo: Eliot Wright
©Kara Bargmann Copper, enamel, linen, raw Citrine; scored, hand-formed 2011 Photo: Eliot Wright Private Collection
©Kara Bargmann Sterling silver, fine silver, 14-karat gold, keum-boo, raw amethyst; hand-fabricated 2011 Photo: Eliot Wright
©Kara Bargmann Copper, enamel, linen, raw amethyst; scored, hand-formed 2011 Photo: Eliot Wright
©Kara Bargmann Sterling silver, raw Smokey Quartz; hand-fabricated 2011 Photo: Eliot Wright
©Kara Bargmann Copper, enamel, linen, raw Quartz; scored, hand-formed 2011 Photo: Eliot Wright
©Kara Bargmann Sterling silver, 24-karat gold plated; hand-fabricated 2011 Photo: Eliot Wright
©Kara Bargmann Copper, enamel, linen; scored, hand-formed 2011 Photo: Eliot Wright
©Kara Bargmann Sterling silver; hand-fabricated, oxidized 2011 Photo: Eliot Wright
©Kara Bargmann Sterling silver; hand-fabricated 2011 Photo: Eliot Wright
©Kara Bargmann Sterling silver; hand-fabricated 2011 Photo: Eliot Wright
©Kara Bargmann Copper, enamel, linen; scored, hand-formed 2011 Photo: Eliot Wright
©Kara Bargmann Sterling silver, fine silver, raw Citrine; hand-fabricated 2011 Photo: Eliot Wright
©Kara Bargmann Sterling silver, fine silver, raw Citrine; hand-fabricated 2011 Photo: Eliot Wright
©Kara Bargmann Sterling silver, fine silver, keum-boo; hand-fabricated, oxidized 2011 Photo: Eliot Wright