Meet Rikki Mitman in Northwest

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rikki Mitman.

After decades of glass fusing and beadmaking, fabricating silver jewelry, hand-forming enameled earrings — and loving every minute of it — Rikki suddenly found herself done. Just done.

Ready for something that felt more deeply personal, she turned to kiln-fired porcelain enamel as an art medium. Through workshops with the late Yoko Hutchins and Glassell’s Jan Harrell, Mitman had learned traditional enameling techniques. But that wasn’t where she wanted to go.

“I was looking for a freer, less formalized approach to enamels,” Mitman says. “You hear a lot of rules when you take classes, no doubt for good reason. Still, I wanted to see what I could get away with.”

Inspired by the experimental approach of the late Fred Ball, Mitman holed up in her studio for several months, testing and failing and cursing those failures, succeeding just often enough to keep trying. In the end, she developed a unique process for creating distinctive collages of enameled metal.

The result was two series of work: Faces In A Crowd and Abstractions — one a gentle poke at human stereotypes, the other giving form to Mitman’s private musings.

You won’t find politics or social issues in Mitman’s art.

“I do care about those things,” she says, “but I haven’t brought them into my work. My art is a humorous examination of familiar concepts and personalities.”

Most works are small — 2”x3” enamels in 6”x6” recessed frames. One is invited to come close, to glimpse a personal thought, to share an intimate little joke.

Though Mitman’s exposure to date is limited, the response is consistent. People do indeed step closer, drawn by the images; when they learn a little about the materials, the process, and the artist, most are even more intrigued.

Establishing a new voice in enamel while learning to swim in the Houston art community fills Mitman, who celebrated her 60th birthday last year, with equal amounts of excitement and trepidation.

And so she continues — pushing the limits of porcelain enamels and navigating the path of the emerging artist.

“It’s a funny thing, to be a ‘new kid’ at my age,” Rikki Mitman says with a grin. ”Not always comfortable. But here I am.”

Rikki Mitman as an artist – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Rikki Mitman applies her passion for mixed-media collage to kiln-fired porcelain enamels, creating abstract expressions and gently humorous portraits of stereotypic people.

After enameling a base of heavy copper, she combines enameled copper fragments, bits of glass, and other inclusions to present these tiny windows into her view of life.

Building a porcelain enamel collage involves multiple rounds of scrubbing metal, applying enamel, arranging elements, and kiln-firing. Varied firing temperatures and times give a range of effects, from polished to organic.

Porcelain enamel is generally used as an anti-corrosion coating for metal, commonly seen on sinks, washing machines, and cookware. In industry, porcelain enamel lines mixing vats and storage vessels.

The enamel is a mixture of frit or finely crushed glass, and porcelain, a fine white clay. These and other ingredients combine to make a material that fires to a hard, glassy surface.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Having my work accepted into juried shows at Hardy & Nance Studios and Archway Gallery.

Pricing:

• Most pieces retail in the $225 – $350 range.

Contact Info:

• Email: rikki.mitman@gmail.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rikki-Mitman-Art-312386932137753/?ref=bookmarks

Image Credit:
Art by Rikki Mitman, Photos by Jenny Wilde

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