Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Appreciating The Finer Things With Japanese Cloisonne

By Dennis Graham


Artistic expression is a cornerstone of humanity. The ability to look at the world and capture the beauty of it is something that is uniquely human. Now, given the sheer number of people out and about in the world, it would only make sense that each culture has its own way of expressing their own artistic visions, and Japanese Cloisonne is just one of them.

Cloisonne is a type of art. It is typically used to be paint things like jars, vases, and other such finery. Now, the word itself is French, but some of the most famous examples are decidedly East Asian in origin.

Its history in Japan begins in the Meiji era. Back then, the samurai, formerly members of the ruling class akin to the knights of Europe, had fallen far from its pedestal. Many of them were living from paycheck to paycheck, literally since most of their income was a meager subsidy. But one of them decided to do it, through artistic methods. So that samurai then grabbed some enamel from China, and then took the whole thing apart, learning the means through which it was fabricated. Then that samurai started making things of their own and teaching others, leading a boom in the industry and for the country to become a top exporter when it reopened to outside trade less than two decades later.

The thing, there really are not that many practical functions for cloisonne. The fact is that art itself is not very practical. Art does not lend itself well to practicality. But still, the world without it would be nothing short of dull. So it makes the world a little less dull, puts a little bit more color in life.

The way it is done is fairly simple. First, fine wires must be applied in order to lay out the area to be decorated. Then enamel paste is applied on to the designated areas, almost in the same manner as a child would color in a coloring book. Once that is done, the whole thing is heated and then subsequently polished.

There is still some use for it in the modern day. First of all, the process is timeless. Simply painting things straight on an empty canvas like a jar is all well and good, but there is far less care taken into it. Now, the cloisonne process, while taking a little longer, is also going to a cut above.

There are going to be some supplies that are needed. First will be the copper bowl or dish or plate or jar. Then some wires. Then some enamel, because the whole thing needs some coloring otherwise there would be no point to it.

Time of course is a factor. This is not a hobby that can be completed in a few minutes. This is something that will require patience.

Human being like things that are pleasing to the eye. The world is not always so. But there are ways to make parts of it nice to look at.




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