It was a slow and nostalgic process…. Memories of our early years in Ireland, our Irish Wolfhounds, baby blankets crochet by great grandmothers and favourite soft toys. Their marriages and subsequent children were to be woven into the design.
I seldom work with drawings. Flat sketches are a waste of time for me. I know what I want in my head and bending my cloisonné (flat ribbon shaped wire) on a curved vessel requires it to be bent in two directions. One for the image and another to fit around the curvature of the surface of the cup.
Also, on a curved surface, the adhesive I use to temporally attach my wires takes time to dry. I could only work on one small section at a time or the wires would move and shift around the cup. Patience was the name of the game. The other advantage of using this adhesive is that I could change my mind and at a later date moisten the wire and move it slightly or remove it completely so there was flexibility.
The slow wirework began…. And as I made soup while I waited for the adhesive to dry, my cat found other things to occupy himself ….