Two Spoons Paired by Barbara McFadyen
Vessel/sculpture
Liquid form enamel on industrial enameled steel
Dipping, Sgraffito, Stoning
1.5 x 1.5 x 0.2 inches
Barbara is a metalsmith and enamelist who has been designing limited editition and one of a kind jewelry in enamel, precious metals and gemstones for nearly five decades. She received her B.A. in creative arts from Eckerd College in 1974 and was awarded her MFA in metal design from East Carolina University in 2017. Barbara first discovered her passion for enameling at Kulicke-Starke Academy in New York City in 1977 and has continued master class studies with notable enamelists such as Bill Helwig, Martha Banyas, Jamie Bennett, Linda Darty, Mi-Sook Hur, and Jan Harrell. A summer immersion in Japan with Parson’s School of Design in 1981 had a profound impact on Barbara. Her vision of nature is filtered and transformed by her awareness of diverse cultural traditions. She has a particular affinity to the art of Japan and its profound aesthetic, shibusa.
Barbara’s award-winning work has been recognized through numerous exhibitions with the American Crafts Council and Smithsonian Craft Shows, SNAG, the Enamelist Society Biennial Competitions, as well as international exhibitions with the Craft Council of British Columbia, Romanian and Slovenian Jewelry Weeks, Florence Italy, and the International Exhibition of Japan Enamelling Artist Association. Her work can be found in the collections of the Metal Museum, the Mint Museum, the Arkansas Museum of Fine Art, the Crocker Museum, and Yale University Art Gallery. Barbara also finds inspiration through sharing her knowledge and teaching others. She has led numerous workshops both nationally and internationally at many fine craft schools and universities.
In 2020, Barbara joined the Board of Directors of The Enamelist Society and is currently serving as their Vice President. Barbara realized her dream of building a dedicated jewelry studio in 2022 on her 50 acre farm in Chapel Hill, N.C., where she enjoys pursuing her explorations and studio practice through bespoke commissions, one-of-a-kind, and limited-edition work. Barbara cherishes spending time with her four children, six grandchildren and enthusiastically shares the practice of beekeeping and raising chickens with her husband, Douglass Phillips.
Inspired by the rich traditions of enamel and metal work my work explores the beauty and excitement of transformations found within enameling and its many materials and techniques. My love of enamel is fueled by the medium’s endless possibilities that provides new challenges, opportunities to learn, and ways to express myself with the beauty of color and metamorphosis of firing glass.
My inspirations, thoughts and emotions are deeply connected to the natural world and have been nourished by observing, gathering, and exploring nature throughout the seasons since childhood. Each day I discover new inspiration in the power, beauty, and the experience of awe that nature invokes. My vision of nature is further filtered and transformed by my affinity to the cultural traditions and art of Japan and it’s unique aesthetic of Shibusa, which embodies a deep connection to the unobtrusive beauty and flux of nature.
My work examines this beauty, love, loss, and finding solace through reflections of the past. Working in precious and non-precious materials, I preserve memories and the stories they hold, though personal adornment or the format of intimate artists books. Through my enameling practice I find a sense of freedom as I lose myself in the meditation of sifting, layering, painting, and firing glass on metal as I seek to transform memories or reflections of nature's impermanence and mystery into distilled moments of beauty and tranquility for the observor to connect with and enjoy.
