Unique Boutique: Michael Romanik, cloisonne enamel jewelry designer

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(Gallery by Allison Carey, The Plain Dealer)

Editor's note: For the last 10 years, Plain Dealer photographer and writer Allison Carey has been making jewelry and scouting the local arts and crafts scene selling her work. In that time she has found that Cleveland has a wealth of talent in the wearable arts. Today we begin a periodic feature, Unique Boutique, looking at the artists who make these accessories. We'll find out where and how they work, where they find inspiration and, most importantly, where can you find their creations and make your own wardrobe unique.

For years I've been fascinated by your work and how it's accomplished. What exactly is cloisonne enamel?

Enamel is the process of baking powdered glass onto base metal like copper, silver or gold. Cloisonne is the technique of incorporating metal wires into the glass to form designs. Cloisonne is a technique of enameling. Things can be enameled without cloisonne, but you can't have cloisonne without enamel. The metal wires in the design serve as a design element and separate the colors of glass by becoming tiny walls. Items are fired in a kiln in stages, an average of seven times each, and then I set a bezel of silver or gold around the piece to protect the edges.

Where did you discover your love for this most intricate art form?

I'm a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art. I was a drawing major. I took glassblowing, printmaking and lithography for several years. A friend introduced me to enameling. I took the class the following semester. That was in 1988. My drawing skills come in handy in placing the wires and in the designs themselves. There was a time when I was a kid that I wanted to be an architect.

This is architecture, on a tiny scale! You concentrate on graphic designs and a few animals. I love the fish!

I do birds, fish and I'm working on rabbits. I've had pet rabbits for about 18 years. The designs come from many places. I've even found inspiration from the design on a tissue box. Early on, I was inspired by Celtic imagery. They use a lot of spirals. I use an Egyptian motif, like lotus flowers. I have a butterfly brooch that looks like pre-Columbian art. I like geometric patterns.

When did you know that you were an artist, and when did you decide this was your career?

When I was in kindergarten. I would draw something and all of the kids would want me to draw it again for them. I've been doing this professionally since 1992. I was at my parents' house one day, and I answered the phone. It was an enamelist who had been trying to find me. She had heard of me. She wanted to hire me. I worked for her for five years. I was doing the prep and finishing work for her designs.

What do you love about your work?

I need to create things, and I like to see the reaction that people have to my work. It's my ideas becoming tangible things. I've always liked working with color. My drawings were often in black and white. I introduced color into my work in printmaking. I hand-colored and rolled color overlays on my prints. Also, not many people do this kind of work. I like to stand out a little in that way. It's a tedious process. Each piece takes a long time. I work with tweezers and fine pliers to bend the wires. The wires are then set onto the base, which has already been coated with clear glass. After that firing, I add the colors and fire again and again.

On the flip side, what do you hate about your work?

It can be frustrating at times to work very hard and then travel very far to a show and not make many sales. You feel that your work isn't appreciated. It's the business aspect that I don't like. This way of life is a gamble. First, you're making something that people don't need to survive on. You pay money to apply to and to be in a show, you travel far to get there and something like rain can ruin your sales. Sometimes, I can hardly afford to buy the supplies needed to make the items to sell at a show. It's a risk, and I often ask myself why I'm still doing this. This year I'm trying Internet sales and I'm putting together a workshop at Flux Metal Arts in Mentor. I also just sent pieces to the Metal Museum in Memphis, Tenn. I'm working on many new outlets.

Have you ever tried making any other types of art for sale?

It takes so long to be efficient at this, that it's all I've ever done. But, to offer a variety of price points, I do make some silver flower jewelry, sometimes set with colorful gemstones or pearls. I have pendants, brooches and earrings ranging from $34 to $115. The majority of the cloisonne enamel pieces cost from about $220 to $450. The larger elaborate pieces, some of them in 18-karat, 22-karat and 24-karat gold, can run over $1,000 to about $3,000.

Has your work changed over the years?

The imagery has improved. The colors have gotten a lot brighter, especially since I switched to using silver as a base. That brightened the palette a lot. I used to use copper with silver-leaf overlay. It was too textured. Working with copper is very dirty. It flakes off after firing. You have to work in a neat and clean environment for the best results. I use sterling silver and 24-karat-gold cloisonne wire now. Even with the rising prices, you have to make it work. I don't do as many all-gold pieces as I used to.

Where do you get your supplies?

Most of my enamel comes from a source in Seattle, where I get Japanese enamel. Again, enamel is the powdered glass. And from a source in Connecticut I get French enamels. The difference is in colors. I get the pinks and reds in the Japanese and the blues in the French. It's just what I like.

What's the best bit of advice anyone has ever given you?

Someone told me a long time ago: "Play your music and someone will listen to it." So, I do what I'm inspired to do and I will find an audience.

That's beautiful! Where do you sell your work and how has that changed over the years?

I started out doing just the local art fairs like Cain Park, the ArtCraft Building Holiday Sale, the Lakewood Arts Festival and Art by the Falls in Chagrin Falls. Now I've branched out and go to bigger art festivals in other states, and I sell at galleries. The biggest show I've been in is the Smithsonian Craft Show in Washington, D.C. It's prestigious; I applied 17 times before I got in. It was in the National Museum, a beautiful space. There is a list of where to buy and items for sale on my website, michaelromanik.com. I have pieces at Heights Arts all year long (in Cleveland Heights next to the Cedar Lee Theatre) and at the Cleveland Museum of Art Museum Store. As for local shows, I'll be in the Boston Mills Artfest July 5-7. You can also follow me on Facebook at Michael Romanik Cloisonne Enamel Jewelry. And I do custom work. I met a woman at a show in Florida and now I'm making her a fish brooch in the specific colors that she wants.

Did I mention . . . I love the fish!

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