Biography

Nicolette Absil is a jewelry artist living and working in Philadelphia. She earned her BFA in Studio Art, concentrating in jewelry and metals, from Rowan University and started her business, Nicolette Absil Studio, in 2013. Her work is sold nationally at galleries, retailers, and craft shows. Absil’s work focuses on enameling, a technique where she fuses glass to metal in a kiln around 1500 degrees Fahrenheit. She starts by sawing and forming a piece of copper or fine silver with a hammer or hydraulic press. She then preps it to be enameled by cleaning the surface of the metal and sifting or wet packing the enamel - it’s similar to the texture or table sugar, onto the metal. Each one of Absil’s pieces is hand drawn or painted, often utilizing graphite, which requires careful attention to firing as it can disappear if heated too long or too high. Once the imagery is fired on with any gold foil details, a clear enamel is placed over the work. The jewelry she creates are contemporary heirlooms - unique, timeless, and beautifully crafted.

Artist Statement

I am inspired by the patterns, textures, and silhouettes that occur in nature. I combine precious metals, vitreous enamel, and gemstones to create beautiful and unique contemporary heirlooms. My work focuses on vitreous enameling, a process in which I fuse glass to metal in a kiln. I hand draw or paint delicate natural imagery onto the enamel, and often under-fire the top layer of glass to create textures that mimic those in nature such as sand, orange peels, or rippling water. I fuse gold foil into my enamels and use gemstones as accents to create pops of color against the monotone enamel color palette. When the enamels are complete, I hand fabricate settings in precious metals which serve to both protect and draw attention to the enamel itself.