Debbie Shezeel, winner of the 2016 Saul Bell award talks passionately about the intricacies of enameling and how it lends itself to so many situations. She weaves stories about her world in Melbourne, the home of the race 'which a country stops for'.
Q What inspires you to create stunning realistic designs?
A I don’t quite know where my inspiration comes from. I love nature. Butterflies, birds, insects and generally all animals. Nature is perfection in design and beauty. Sometimes I simply let the gold wires form themselves and follow where they take me. Colour is my special interest. I suppose that is why I love enamel so much, the beauty of the gem-like colours. Q Can you please tell us about your background and how you started enameling?
Q Enamel is always seen as a dainty art for beautiful jewellery. Are there any large pieces you’ve been commissioned to do?
A . It is weatherproof so can be used outdoors as a mural or decoration for sculpture. Murals for indoors, bowls and plates, plaques and paintings as well as for jewellery. In 1995 the Federal Airports of Australia commissioned me to produce the mural for the Brisbane International Airport specifically for the “Arrivals Hall”. I spent a week in the Daintree Forrest, Queensland researching. The mural took 2 years to design, produce and construct. It was approximately 16 x 3 ½ meters, three dimensional enamel on copper with fine silver inlay and is called “Daintree”.
Q Please tell us about the first prize you won at the prestigious Saul Awards in May 2016.
A Saul Bell Design Award Competition is the premier jewelry design competition. I recently made an unusual double butterfly necklace with two magnificent stones. I entered it into The Saul Bell Award, and won this prestigious award for enamel. It is an absolutely gorgeous piece and has been valued at $50,000 AUD.
Q With Melbourne Cup just around the corner, have you done anything special around horses?
A Quite a few years ago I made an enamel painting of a racing horse for a well respected gallery at the time, Makers Mark Gallery in Collins Street. It was very large and took many firings and many weeks to finish. It sold very quickly. I have also made many large bowls with race horses which have also sold. For the same gallery I made many, many Australiana large enamel and fine silver bowls depicting Australian flora and fauna, approximately 24” in diameter that were purchased by the Prime Ministers Department as gifts for dignitaries.
Q Tell us more about your family? Whats your most favourite place in the world?
A My parents came from Europe and collected many beautiful objects and and paintings during their marriage. My father was a business man but had always wanted to do architecture and my mother had a fabulous eye for design and finish. I suppose it rubbed off. My husband and I have a small farm outside of Melbourne where we go most weekends to enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside. We have some cows, chickens and peacocks and a 25 acre vineyard where we grow “reds”. This is one of my favourite places in the world.
Q How did this all start?
A I was born in Australia and was lucky to study painting at the National Gallery School in Melbourne, now named “College of the Arts”. I discovered enameling after going to night school to study gold and silversmithing. There was a kiln in the corner of the class and after asking what it was I was told it was an enameling kiln. The teacher showed me that on precious metal (copper, silver and gold), a white powder (ground enamel), was sprinkled on to the copper, then fired in the kiln. After a minute in the kiln it was removed and I fell in love……it was shiny, smooth, glossy and so white! I found that enamel was available in so many brilliant colours and I began using enamel as a medium with which to paint on sheets of copper. I then bought myself a medium sized kiln and began working in the laundry under my house, using the washing machine as a bench top! Now I work in a wonderful studio with lots of light and the inspiration is all around me. I generally play soothing music and have my dog nearby for company.
Q Could you describe your jewellery?
A My special jewellery pieces are “one off” and there is something about them which simply declares that they are made by Debbie Sheezel. There are no two pieces the same and are quite unique. There is nothing like them anywhere in the world. I use precious and semi-precious stones in some of my pieces and sometimes some natural stones that are inspiring in themselves and I respond to their natural markings in my design. Because there are not many people in the high end jewellery world using enamel, the pieces are sought after. When someone buys one of my jewellery pieces it’s because they love the design, colours and uniqueness of the piece. They are certainly eye catching, different, comfortable to wear and they feel special. They fall in love with their selected piece!
Q Tell us more about yourself as a teacher.
A I taught for many years at RMIT University and was secretary of the Gold and Silversmiths Guild of Australia for many years and am now still on the council. I also teach by holding workshops a few times each year.
Q Do you prefer commissions or designing for yourself?
A I enjoy commissions as it often forces me to explore other avenues, which often leads me into new ideas and directions. I also love commissions because I like meeting the people to whom I’m making for, then designing especially for them and their personality, likes and dislikes.I made a beautiful sterling silver, very large box with an enamelled lid for a client who collected watches. He commissioned this box for one of his watches. It was a superb large box with an unusual design alluding to time itself. I loved making this box which took many months and the gentleman was a really nice person to deal with.
Q What are the new pieces you are working on now? What do you see for yourself in the future?
A I am in the process of making a candle holder which should be magnificent when finished and am constantly making great designs in jewellery. Who knows what the future holds for me. I just want to keep doing what I love doing and that’s making beautiful enamel work that is world class. It would be nice to know that my pieces are appreciated when I’m long gone and my children and grandchildren are proud of my memory.