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Numerous articles about Kaplan and her work have been published in magazines and periodicals throughout the US, Canada, Europe and Korea - notably in American Craft, Metalsmith and a recent cover story in Lapidary Journal. |
The following are excerpts from some of these articles:
"Enid Kaplan: Roses and Cannibals" by Anne Loranger - Vie et Sante, March 2000
In Enid's studio paintings, drawings, sculptures and jewelry dance
together in a whirlwind of feminine energy. Symbols of eyes, hands and
stairways are used with all sorts of diverse materials. "I love to
scavenge the streets for found treasures - glass, broken records, bones -
and then to integrate them with precious metals and stones. I love the
challenge of combining things that appear to be contradictory. When I
succeed in integrating these materials so that they express something I
really want to say, it brings me an extraordinarily powerful feeling."
"Medicine Artist" by Mark Lurie- Lapidary Journal, September 1999
I'm a story teller," says Kaplan, a studio artist and teacher who is also a
popular draw on the lecture circuit. A breezy and articulate speaker who
projects an earthy glamour, she leaves audiences transfixed by exotic images
and vignettes from her travels, which have included stints among many
diverse tribal peoples. Those who come to hear her also listen
attentively as she describes the ways in which such experiences have
shaped her outlook on life and the look of her jewelry." In my work, I want to touch people. I want to communicate. So, while I
think really good art starts with your personal journey, it becomes a
universal journey. And you're making visible the invisible, which is the
same thing that the shamans are doing in all of these cultures.""I think butterflies are the universe's pastel sketches - They're so
ephemeral. The whole idea that the universe is giving us this incredible beauty,....
for such a fleeting moment: I think it's a reminder that change is
constant, and not to hang on to things. Even things of beauty will be
destroyed and then from death comes new life. The butterfly is a reminder
to let all things pass, and we get in trouble when we try to hang on to
anything. We kill it...When commissioned to create a particular amulet for someone she will ask
"What do you want to let go of in your life, what do you want to enhance,
and what do you wish you had that you don't have?" The concept is... to
help you reach your potential, to be who you want to be." ..."It's like I'm
a medicine woman, in the sense that I'm putting things together with a
healing intention. I often think that what makes a piece of artwork
powerful is very often the intention of the artist."
Enid Kaplan: Joanne Rapp Gallery by Robert Lalonde- Metalsmith, Fall 1998
The recent exhibition of Enid Kaplan is a fascinating exploration of the
artist's deeply personal evolution.... Compounded with mythical reference
and a hallucinatory aura, Kaplan's work opens a rare window into her
psyche. ...For Kaplan, who has been profoundly effected by travels to such
places as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, the elemental conceptual basis
for her work appears to be two-fold. A deeply rooted personal struggle to
achieve spiritual power is accompanied by a calling to tell the story of
that journey. By these means, she plays the role of the modern cave
painter.Kaplan has found herself assigned the task of surpassing the role of object
maker. She has chosen instead to provide a spiritual link, by making the
"invisible world visible"...
Enid Kaplan: "Suspensi Spiritus" by Kelly Mitchell- Metalsmith, Spring 1995
Enid Kaplan's work as a contemporary artist is a three-dimensional
testament to her belief in the complexity of human nature....Her new series
is an ambitious project which squarely confronts the dualities that live in
all of us: good and evil, hope and despair, strength and weakness, trust
and betrayal...Kaplan's amulets find their meaning in the realm of the personal- for the
artist, the wearer, and the viewer. One gets the sense that she created
each amulet as she came to know herself in the situations and psychological
states that they portray. For those among us who accept her offering, it
is a deeply personal one to receive.
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Enid Kaplan and her assistant
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For the past 17 years Kaplan has been presenting workshops and lectures throughout North America at such notable institutions as Arrowmont, the Penland School of Crafts, the 92nd Street Y, Parsons School of Design, the Ontario College of Art, Concordia University in Montreal, The Smithsonian Institute, the Open Center, the American Craft Museum and the Houston Museum of Art. In 1997 she was a presenter at the Society of North American Goldsmith's Conference in Albuquerque. |
ENID KAPLAN: SLIDE LECTURE- 1 1/2 Hours
"BORNEO AND BEYOND" - Art, Life and the Call of the Wild
From 1991- 1992 Ms. Kaplan took an eight month journey through remote areas of Southeast Asia, including Borneo, Sumatra and New Guinea, where she and her husband were researching the arts and healing practices of tribal peoples. This voyage led her to explore the spiritual dimensions of the creative process and to incorporate this awareness in the making of her own artwork. Her lecture will discuss the making and use of amulets and "power objects" in diverse cultures, contemporary and traditional, and will show slides of these influences on her work.
This colorful presentation has been presented at the 1997 Society of North American Goldsmith's Conference in Albuquerque and at numerous universities and institutions throughout the US and Canada. It includes vivid visuals and amusing anecdotes of the exotic places and peoples they encountered, such as Dayak headhunters of Borneo and the painted and feathered Asmat cannibals. The lecture will also address some of the shifts in thinking these experiences generated regarding human values, the interconnection of man and nature and the role of artists in society as healers and conduits to the spirit world.
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All are offered in either a two-day or one week format and can be adapted to specific student levels and facility/tool availability. |
All cultures through the centuries have created and worn special objects for the purposes of protection, healing and enhancement. This workshop will address the thinking and intuitive processes associated with the making of amulets and will offer students various techniques for the purpose of creating their own: hollow construction, etching, stone setting, found object assemblage and metal coloration. The workshop includes a slide presentation that addresses the symbolism and use of amulets in diverse cultures throughout history, traditional and contemporary.
MANDALA means center, circumference or magic circle. The process of creating mandalas has been used for centuries as an active meditation for personal growth and spiritual enrichment. Carl Jung associated the mandala with the Self and utilized the mandala-making process as a tool for self-realization both for himself and his patients. A series of exercises in drawing, painting, movement and writing will lead participants to identify the issues they wish to address and to clarify their personal visual symbols, leading to their creation of a two and three-dimensional mandala. Simple approaches to assemblage in metal, wood and other materials will be presented along with ways to etch, texture and color metals.
This intense course will present students with a spontaneous an "painterly" approach to metalwork that emphasizes its color potential. The course will cover various mixed-metals techniques, the application of paints, pigments, patinas, and gold leaf to etched and textured metal surfaces and the use of reactive metal anodization of niobium and titanium. Students will also learn ways to integrate these pieces into finished works.
Innovative approaches to the decoration of the ear, including asymmetrical pairs, single earrings, multiple combinations and alternative fastening devices will be presented. The workshop will include demonstrations of design techniques and fastening devices for the ear, and a slide survey of contemporary and tribal ear adornment. Experiments with various paper and metal models will lead to the construction of at least one pair of earrings and, more importantly, to a new perspective on designing for specific areas of the body.
The application of metalworking techniques traditionally associated with jewelry fabrication will be applied to the creation of sculptures, wall reliefs and functional objects for the home and kitchen. Students will learn ways to form, texture, assemble and patina sheet metal, wire and tubing in bronze, brass, copper and steel to create objects of their own design. Emphasis will be placed on "shell forming" of 14-16 gauge sheet metal. The incorporation of mixed-materials such as acrylics, woods, rubber and stone will also be introduced.
