{"id":3426,"date":"2020-06-29T11:09:54","date_gmt":"2020-06-29T10:09:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lindaconnellyenamels.co.uk\/2020\/06\/29\/wisley-botanical-gardens-enamel\/"},"modified":"2020-06-29T11:09:54","modified_gmt":"2020-06-29T10:09:54","slug":"wisley-botanical-gardens-enamel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lindaconnellyenamels.co.uk\/?p=3426","title":{"rendered":"Wisley Botanical Gardens Enamel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I have been thinking a lot recently about visits to Botanical Gardens and the wonderful collections of plants that they house. I have many happy memories of visiting Kew Gardens as a young child with my grandparents when you got in for 1 old penny in the turnstile. Years later I remember getting locked in when I went there for a picnic to celebrate a friends birthday after work. Champagne and strawberries in the rhododendron dell and we didn\u2019t hear the little bell they used to ring. We had to walk around the perimeter until we found a cottage where someone was living. It was well before mobile phones. As a family we enjoy days out to gardens of all types and often visit Wisley RHS and Kew. I am always drawn to the cathedral like structures of the glasshouses whether they are the a Victorian structures at Kew or the much more modern one at Wisley with its state of the art computer controlled light, heat and ventilation. Entering the Glasshouse at Wisley is like walking into a jungle with tree ferns, tall palms, lush-leaved creepers and dazzling flower displays giving a feeling of lushness and drama. Sometimes it is home to thousands of butterflies which adds another dimension to the display. During the winter they have a Festival of Lights where plants on the glasshouse are lit by coloured lights from beneath giving extra colour and drama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I spent a long time looking at the many hundreds of photos I have taken over the years. Due to the lockdown I wasn\u2019t actually able to visit any of these places again but the photos really helped. I spent a lovely sunny Sunday afternoon on the patio drawing ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I decided to work on silver and to engrave the piece before forming the wires for a cloisonn\u00e9 design. I made a film about part of this process that you can see on my Tutorials page. Here are some pictures of the piece in progress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The silver has been cut, formed and engraved. First I add a layer of transparent enamel and fire in the kiln before I start to add the wires that I have shaped using the design I have drawn. It\u2019s a long process.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The enamel is laid in thin layers and each layer is fired in the kiln for around two minutes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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More layers have been added and fired to build up the depth of colour and shading.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Even more layers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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When the cells are nearly full I grind the whole piece. I am aiming to have the whole piece level without any areas which are lower than the rest. This is done in stages. More can be seen in the films on my Tutorials page.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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This is the final firing when only a few cells need a little more enamel to fill them<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The final piece. It has been fired and ground down and then polished by hand to make it shiny again. It feels silky to the touch. It is now ready for a setting to be made.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Check out my Video Stories<\/a> to learn more about this necklace and to see more videos of my work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have been thinking a lot recently about visits to Botanical Gardens and the wonderful collections of plants that they house. I have many happy memories of visiting Kew Gardens as a young child with my grandparents when you got in for 1 old penny in the turnstile. Years later I remember getting locked in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3442,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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have been thinking a lot recently about visits to Botanical Gardens and the wonderful collections of plants that they house. I have many happy memories of visiting Kew Gardens as a young child with my grandparents when you got in for 1 old penny in the turnstile. Years later I remember getting locked in…","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3603,"url":"https:\/\/lindaconnellyenamels.co.uk\/?p=3603","url_meta":{"origin":3426,"position":0},"title":"Botanical Gardens – The Latest News","author":"admin","date":"November 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I am really excited to announce that my Botanical Gardens - Wisley Necklace has been chosen to be included in the new Association of Contemporary Jewellers (ACJ), exhibition Glasshouses. Botanical Gardens - Wisley Necklace Botanical Gardens play a vital role in helping to protect the bio-diversity of our planet and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Linda Connelly Enamels"","block_context":{"text":"Linda Connelly Enamels","link":"https:\/\/lindaconnellyenamels.co.uk\/?cat=7"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lindaconnellyenamels.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/wisley-necklace-front-prof-edited-scaled-1.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lindaconnellyenamels.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/wisley-necklace-front-prof-edited-scaled-1.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lindaconnellyenamels.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/wisley-necklace-front-prof-edited-scaled-1.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lindaconnellyenamels.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/wisley-necklace-front-prof-edited-scaled-1.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3206,"url":"https:\/\/lindaconnellyenamels.co.uk\/?p=3206","url_meta":{"origin":3426,"position":1},"title":"Lockdown Jewellery Stories","author":"admin","date":"May 2, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"We are living through times that are radically different from any that we have experienced before. Overnight seemingly my whole life was curtailed . Shows and classes were cancelled. Galleries closed. No more gallery duties for the foreseeable future. Like everyone I was in shock to begin with. 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We need to conserve our oceans and take care of all that live within them so when we do discover this hidden kingdom\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Linda Connelly Enamels"","block_context":{"text":"Linda Connelly Enamels","link":"https:\/\/lindaconnellyenamels.co.uk\/?cat=7"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lindaconnellyenamels.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/img_2881-scaled-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lindaconnellyenamels.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/img_2881-scaled-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lindaconnellyenamels.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/img_2881-scaled-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lindaconnellyenamels.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/img_2881-scaled-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5150,"url":"https:\/\/lindaconnellyenamels.co.uk\/?p=5150","url_meta":{"origin":3426,"position":4},"title":"Marsh Dawn Enamel Necklace – Silver Award at Goldsmiths\u2019 Craftsmanship and Design Awards 2026","author":"admin","date":"March 10, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Marsh Dawn Necklace - Basse-tasille enamel on silver with freshwater pearls Last night I attended the annual Goldsmiths\u2019 Craftsmanship and Design Council Awards in London. 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