Allan Heywood was very active on the Orchid List for many years -
and post a great deal of very helpful - he is the reason
I know about the Orchid List today
It is with Great Sadness that I send out this news - I’ve gathered
some of the links to other related news articles ABOUT Allan as
well.
The enameling world has recently suffered the loss of one of its
finest craftsmen. Allan B. Heywood Australian enameller, musician,
writer, webmaster, Masters Tri-athlete, and resident of Skipton,
Victoria, Australia passed away Tuesday 28th September 2010. Allan
is survived by his two children Katherine and Chris. Allan was laid
to rest in a characteristically practical, unique, and eco-minded
way on October 4th 2010 in Camperdown in Western Victoria,
Australia. (Link: Victorian man has first ever upright eco burial at
vertical cemetery: http://tinyurl.com/25cpqfk )
Allan Heywood’s work his been included in such Exhibitions as the
International Exhibition of Enamelling Art, Tokyo JAPAN;
International Exhibition of Miniature Art, Toronto CANADA; Guild of
Craft Enamellers ENGLAND; Pacific Enamelling Symposium USA; “Focus
on Fire” USA; “Kunstverein Coburg” Germany; And numerous Australian
exhibitions including the Alice Craft Award, C.C.N.T., National
Enamel Exhibition, Sydney; National Craft Acquisition Award,
C.C.N.T, Wildlife Art Society of Australasia; and the Australian
Society of Miniature Art Among others.
Mr. Heywood has been the recipient of many Awards, including GRAND
PRIZE WINNER, Sixth International Exhibition of Miniature Art; 2nd
Prize Third International Exhibition of Miniature Art Toronto
Canada; Joint Winner P. H. Wolfe Cloisonne Cup Guild of Craft
Enamellers England; Winner of the Chairman’s Rose Bowl for the
Outstanding Exhibit Guild of Craft Enamellers England; 1st prize,
open enamelling Special Prize; best metalwork exhibit Royal
Agricultural Society of Victoria, Australia; Inaugural
C.A.S.C.A.W.P. award for cultural achievement in the visual arts
Shire of Hampden Australia; 1st prize decorated metalwork, enamel
Ian McIntyre Memorial Award Australian Natives Association Award.
Several of Allan Heywood’s works reside in the collection of the
Museums & Art Galleries of the Northern Territory including “Waratah
Plate” Alice Craft Acquisition, and “The Miraculous Ascension of
Clianthus Formosus” National Craft Acquisition Award, Darwin. And
additional works reside in collections in Australia, Bulgaria, West
Germany, Spain, France, Italy, England, The Netherlands, Scotland,
South Africa, the U.S.A., Japan, Israel and Canada.
Allan B. Heywood was born in 1946 in Melbourne Australia, and he
lived for over 20 years in Skipton Victoria, Australia. A full-time
enameller he worked chiefly in cloisonne and related techniques, and
the repair and restoration of enamelled items, many pieces antique,
and historic, many of which has been jewellery.
As a teenager Allan Heywood worked for a small firm of
stainless-steel fabricators in Moreland, Victoria, where he learned
to work with metal, at collage Allan Studied Applied Chemistry.
Allan served with the Royal Australian Engineers in South Vietnam in
1967-68. He also worked in Ford’s Melbourne car assembly plant in
the Manufacturing Engineering department in process control with
respect to paints, sealers, adhesives, abrasives and other
non-metallic materials. After 7 years with Ford he left to attend
the Australian College of Entertainers. He was also
pub-singer/guitarist, musician and a professional entertainer for
many years.
Allan said that he came to enamelling by chance, “Some twenty-eight
years ago I happened to see a commercial exhibition of Chinese
enamels - pieces of all shapes, sizes and colours, mainly cloisonne
and plique-a-jour. Part of the display was a small ‘how-to’ vase set
showing five major steps in making a Chinese-style cloisonne vase. I
was hooked and set out with a naive blend of arrogance and ignorance
to make cloisonne and there have been few days since in which enamel
hasn’t played some part.”
Information selected from Full History Allan Heywood Webpage -
History: http://heywoodenamels.com/main/enamel_history.html
Allan Heywood has had a profound influence in the world of enameling
through his exceptional original enamel works and his impeccable
antique restoration work, as well as by authoring several
comprehensive articles on enamelling techniques. As the creator and
webmaster of one of the most informative websites about the art of
enamelling on the World Wide Web he amassed a wealth of enameling
and metal Allan helped to connect enamellers the world
over by showcasing the works of the many great craftsmen in the
field. The eNAMEL Online Newsletter is an online resource, which
Allan wrote and produced from July 2001 thru February 2004. It is
still available today along with the wonderful “eNAMEL Gallery” and
“Useful Stuff”
(Links: eNAMEL Online Newsletter: http://enews.heywoodenamels.com/ -
eNAMEL Gallery: http://gallery.heywoodenamels.com/
Allan was very active on several online forums and frequently shared
a generous amount of expert with forum members on
enamelling, metalsmithing and the chemicals used in those processes.
Besides being an enameller and former musician Allan was also a
Masters tri-athlete who enjoyed a level of fitness which defied his
years. He claimed a podium finish in the Olympic distance triathlon
at the world Masters championship in Geelong 2008-9.
(LINK: Allan Heywood Triathlete: http://www.ballarattriclub.com/ )
In the eNAMEL Online Newsletter Allan Heywood once wrote of expert
enamelist (David C. Freda):
"We in the West generally fail to recognise our major artists in any
useful sense while they are alive. In a more culturally-developed
society David C. Freda would be classed as a “Living National
Treasure” and treated accordingly - as would several other
individuals who’ve featured previously in these pages. " Allan
Heywood
I would offer that Allan Heywood is himself worthy of the sort of
recognition he suggested for other exceptional enamelists who make
consistent contributions. “National Treasure” would be a most
fitting description for Allan considering his vast contribution to
the field of enameling during his MANY years making exceptional
original enamel work, and for his expertise in antique enamel
repair. As well as for his generous sharing of enameling techniques,
and for showcasing the works of so many artisans in field of
metalsmithing and enameling on the World Wide Web. Allan Heywood is
ONE OF A KIND - And He IS Sorely Missed!
Sharon Scalise