Léanne McCormack

Jeweller | Enameller | Artist

I am an aspiring jeweller and enameller, first class graduate and artist in residence in Silversmithing and Jewellery at the Belfast School of Art.

My work fuses traditional jewellery and silversmithing techniques, with a modern aesthetic. From jewellery and silversmithing to enamelling and drawing, I aspire to create art which is unique.

I have always been inspired by nature. My inspirations come from all around me, sometimes it is something small and seemingly mundane that catches my eye. And I like to try and capture its delicacy or beautiful colours in jewellery, enamels or painting.

To purchase or commission a piece please get in touch or go to my Etsy shop.

Fragile Life

  • Image of enamelled butterfly

Butterflies are representations of the human soul in many cultures. The essence of this series of work is to capture the human spirit and make it tangible, to expose the fragility of life and to explore its transition to death and beyond.

Vitreous enamel and copper foil are used to accentuate the delicacy of these ethereal creatures. The copper has been etched away to reveal their vulnerability. I invite an emotional response, as the butterflies transform from decay to be given a new existence. Representing human souls flying freely away.

  • Copper foil and vitreous enamel butterfly
  • Copper foil and vitreous enamel butterfly
  • Copper foil and vitreous enamel butterfly
  • Copper foil and vitreous enamel butterfly
  • Copper foil and vitreous enamel butterfly
  • Copper foil and vitreous enamel butterfly
  • Copper foil and vitreous enamel butterfly
  • Copper foil and vitreous enamel butterfly
  • Copper foil and vitreous enamel butterfly

Awards

Climbing Roses Clock

  • Image of Climbing Roses Clock
  • Close-up image of Climbing Roses Clock |  Copper, clock mechanism and garnets | Diameter 27 cm x Height 5 cm | Copper was etched, scored and foldformed. The garnets were bezel set in Sterling silver | Photo credit Leanne McCormack.

The Climbing Roses Clock was my winning entry for a competition from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. This piece was created as the award for ’Best Cluster Rose’, at the International Rose Awards, 2018.

The International Rose Garden at Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park is one of the World’s leading rose gardens and the Rose Awards are a central part of the city’s Annual Rose Week. This prestigious event brings judges from Belgium, Denmark, England, Germany, Scotland and all over Ireland to help the Rose Society of Northern Ireland decide the winners.

The award was presented to Dicksons of Northern Ireland at a Civic Lunch, Belfast City Hall, which I had the pleasure of attending and where I met the recipients of my winning design.


Enameller Award

In my first year at the Belfast School of Art, I was introduced to enamelling by my lecturer and silversmith, Cara Murphy, and since then, I have endeavoured to include vitreous enamel in my work. I am interested in the whole technique of enamelling and in particular the process of adding colour to metal.

In 2018, I was honoured to be awarded Runner Up in the ‘Guild of Enamellers - Student Bursary Award’. I found this to be indispensable in the knowledge and contacts which I gained. My work was then featured in the January/February and March/April, 2018 issue of ‘Craft and Design Online’. More recently, two pieces of my enamelled work were featured in the ‘Jurors Choice’ category of the Charles Lewton-Brain Foldforming Competition, 2018.