Bullfinch & Barbury ~ Handmade Enameled Goods

I'm very excited about these bangles! Vincent Van Gogh has long been one of my favourite painters and I think that his style translates well into enamel. The saturated tones of his work and the extraordinary use of contrasting color and shape draws an immediate response from the viewer. There is an emotional content in Van Gogh's work that resounds far beyond the subject matter. Who else could make a Cafe seem so charged with tension - or a night sky appear so hopeful and caressing and tranquil?














Van Gogh was actually considered a failure in his lifetime, and suffered from extreme anxiety and mental illness. He was very close with his brother, Theo, and though his letters, much insight into Vincent's life was preserved. Vincent once explained that painting eased his anxiety and relieved his depression - and from looking at his later paintings, it is clear that Vincent was optimistic and concentrating on a healthy outlook. Many of his paintings from this time incorporated swirls - like the clouds in Starry Night.




It was only after his death that Van Gogh's work became recognized as a foundation for modern art. His peers later described his work as "genius", and when you peruse the list of most expensive paintings ever sold, Van Gogh's "Portrait of Dr. Gachet" is in the top five.





















The Starry Night bangles were made using watercolor enamels and crayon enamels. Both of these are applied like a person would use any other watercolor or pencil, but are fired into the surface just like a powdered enamel. The addition of rutilated quartz cabochons by stone cutter Greg Genovese, brings out the golden, glimmering effect of the 24 Karat gold foil stars.



The next set in the works is Monet's Waterlilies . . . Do you have a favourite Impressionist that you would like to see in bangle-form? Please leave a comment with your suggestions!

Thank you to everyone who entered the Bullfinch & Barbury Holiday Giveaway! I have the names of two winners, provided by RANDOM.org's true random number generator.

The winner of the Bit of Merry Giveaway is: Melissa Moore

Melissa was number 81 out of 95 entries - she is getting a set of Wexford enameled bangles and a Cranberry Spice Enamel and Pearl Necklace!

The winner of the Holiday Cache Giveaway is: Jamie Waggoner

Jaime was number 6 out of 29 entries - she is getting the Somerset enameled bangle set and a Somerset Damask Enameled Necklace!

Thank you again to everyone who entered!

Happy Holidays!

This lovely hand-colored swan print from the 1850's caught my eye while browing through Etsy the other day - and suddenly inspired a whole winter scene of elegant clothing, chilly hues and ruffled finery.

In honour of the holidays (and B&B's birthday on December 3), I've made some extra jewelry pieces to be awarded at random to fans of Bullfinch & Barbury. There are two different giveaways - which means more chances to win some lovely enameled prizes!

So, read the details about both giveaways below and enter. Best of luck!

• Be a Fan on Facebook - Bullfinch & Barbury
  

• Twitter about this post


• Blog about this contest and link back to this post

Holiday Cache Giveaway

• You are automatically entered when you order from http://www.bullfinchbarbury.etsy.com/ or http://www.bullfinchbarbury.1000markets.com/.

At this point, I know I have well over 30 pages full of "hearted" Etsy favourites. You would think that I would learn to curb the habit - but instead, I've decided to spread it (to you)!

This handmade casserole dish by Glazed Over is almost to pretty to fill with food - but what a perfect gift for the Thanksgiving host/hostess/head chef. Bringing it filled with whipped sweet potatoes with some caramelized apples on top would score even more points (in fact, I might just invite you to my place for Thanksgiving). Of course, if this lovely dish were mine, it would be coming back home with me - but for you generous souls, it really is a nice way to say "thanks"!



For the drive to visit relatives that live a distance away, a soft, hand-spun skein of yard like this Sand Stone merino and Llama blend by On The Round comes in handy. Rather than staring out the window, you can try your hand at knitting or crochet. Yet, I've found with so many of these yarns that they are too much a work of art just as they are to knit them into anything. The solution: more and more scarves and cowls out there have a multi-strand appearance that you can create just by making some large loops of yarn and securing them all together in several spots.

Here's a first look at some of the new, frost-inspired jewelry pieces I'm working on for winter. Hopefully, these will be in my Etsy shop by Nov. 1 (which is coming up fast)!