Instructor Feature: Q and A with Barbara McFadyen

This June, metalsmith and enamel artist Barbara McFadyen will offer a workshop at Touchstone that explores the expressive potential of vitreous enamel. With decades of experience and a deep connection to Western Pennsylvania, Barbara brings a thoughtful, exploratory approach to teaching and making. In this interview conducted by Touchstone board member and fellow metalsmith Andrew Thornton, Barbara shares reflections on memory, process, and what participants can expect in the studio.

For people who aren’t familiar with your work, how would you describe what you do and what inspires you to make the work that you create?

I love to combine the time-honored traditions of metalsmithing with the color and transformative process of vitreous enameling. I am intrigued by the magical process of firing layer upon layer of glass and discovering what is then revealed in the kiln, even when the result is unexpected.  Being able to capture my memories and inspirations and hold them forever in the beauty of glass is what keeps my love of enameling practice alive. What I especially love about enameling is that there is always more to learn, explore, and new techniques to combine!

My inspirations are deeply connected to the mystery and beauty of the natural world– its infinite details, patterns, seasons, and cycles of life. Using symbols of nature, the art of enameling allows me to create metaphors of personal stories, where nature becomes the language through which I can reflect, trace, and capture treasured memories and moments of tranquility. My work often refers to the historical period of mourning and sentimental jewelry, love and loss, and the secret language of floriography.

I know you spent parts of your childhood in Southwestern Pennsylvania. What are some of your favorite memories?

I remember well my grandparents’ Tudor-style house on Edgerton Avenue, in Pittsburgh, with its leaded windows and sweeping arched rooflines. When I was very young, I remember the skies being lit up bright red and orange at night from the steel mills. Our family often spent time at my grandparents’ home in the country, in Ligonier. We often celebrated the Fourth of July there with warm summer nights and the excitement of sparklers.

When did you first hear about Touchstone, and what drew you to it?

In 2009, a dear metals friend and I were looking for a workshop to take together that would interest us both. Touchstone caught my eye because of my childhood memories of spending time in the beautiful countryside of western Pennsylvania. We found a workshop that excited us in Touchstone’s catalog…Bodacious Bangles, taught by John Cogswell! That was it, we were PA-bound! I flew from NC to my friend’s in White Plains, NY, and from there we drove all the way to western PA. It was like a Thelma and Louise movie, but with a happy ending.

Why do you want to offer a workshop at Touchstone?

I have always been interested in Touchstone because of my many childhood memories and still current family ties to Western PA. I have taught workshops for many fine craft schools throughout the US, including Penland, Arrowmont, Haystack, Pocosin, John Campbell, and Peter’s Valley, but I have not had the opportunity to teach at Touchstone! This past fall, I was thrilled to be invited to teach at Touchstone and be able to return to see the campus after so many years, as a teacher rather than a student.

What excites you most about your upcoming workshop?

The thing I absolutely love the most about teaching is that I always learn something new from my students in every class. It is exciting to share the joy of my students as they learn to enamel and see their delight when their pieces come out of the kiln transformed into something unique and beautiful. Teaching always helps me learn better, too!

What’s something unique about your process, materials, or approach that participants will experience?

I think what is most unique about my enameling practice is that I know so many different techniques and materials, which I can then blend together, rather than just one specific style or approach. I like to show my students the full range of underglaze and overglaze materials so that they can then decide and choose what materials or techniques will work best to express their design inspiration.

I have over 45 years of experience and have studied with many of the “greats” of enameling, including Bill Helwig, Martha Banyas, Jamie Bennett, Mi-Sook Hur, Jan Harrell, Ruth Ball, and more. However, I love to keep learning, and I am still constantly taking workshops because there is always something new to discover!

You are a fellow magpie with art supplies! What is your favorite right now?

My latest passion is collecting antique Japanese books with ancient kimono designs, Japanese landscapes, folk life, and Ukiyo-e paintings. I use these as inspirations for enamel designs or making stencils and silkscreens to enamel with!

Is there a key technique or process you hope your students will walk away with?

I want my students to be successful and walk away with work they are proud of. It is important to understand the properties of firing glass on metal with their different rates of expansion and contraction. This will ensure a good start for creating a proper base coat on which they can then successfully add many layers to explore the wide variety of techniques, from sifting, drawing, screening, and painting techniques presented. Even when it may look like all is lost, there is always a way to restore a piece you are working on. Sometimes grinding off layers suddenly reveals the most unexpected and wonderful surprises!

What would you say to someone who’s thinking about taking your workshop but isn’t sure yet?

Come try enameling with me! Even if you have never touched enameling before, I think you will love it, and I can guarantee you will have a great time and be successful! I love working with beginners, and I can manage many levels of experience all in one workshop. You don’t have to be able to draw! Enameling can be fun and spontaneous, fluid, and abstract, as well as carefully drawn out and planned.

Do you have a previous workshop participant who would be willing to supply a testimonial?

• “I sure did have a good time spending another weekend learning from you. It is a pleasure having you as a teacher…you are AMAZING and you have such a sweet and easy going personality! I agree with you mother in law that you do have the “patience of Job”. I came home and told my husband that “I love this enameling teacher and she has so much knowledge to share!” I wish you were teaching at a local college or somewhere on a weekly basis because I would be the first to sign up to learn.” -C.C.

• “I can’t say enough how much I enjoyed this workshop! I’ve already started consolidating my notes and making plans to play with more ideas this Thursday during Sertoma’s open enamel studio. You are generous, patient and so knowledgeable. I’m so happy that I was able to participate in your workshop! I look forward to seeing more from you!” -T.C.

• Barbara McFadyen is an excellent instructor. I took her enameling class at Penland and she was incredibly patient and thorough in her approach and in the scope of the curriculum. She was also quite generous with her time and expertise, as well as sharing her own supplies with the class in order to give all students an opportunity to experiment in any way possible. I remember Barbara’s class often and fondly- I learned so much and was able to try so many techniques I would not have had the knowledge, supplies, or honestly patience to try on my own in my studio.” -C.A.