- [Narrator] Good evening and welcome to the Upper Cumberland Camera.

Later tonight, we'll see what happened this week when the circus came to town.

But first tonight, this story.

The art of enamel is practiced extensively in Europe but is fairly rare in the United States.

German enamelist Hill Dreu de Blanc is here to remedy that.

Ms. Blanc was a visiting lecturer this week at Tennessee Technological University.

During her stay in Cookeville, she visited the Channel 22 Studios to talk about her work.

- Enameling is an... A special, um art, a craft, a work and it's always together with some metal and some very very thin glass.

Glass melted with some metal oxides and we use a piece of, um, gold, silver, or copper and put a very very thin sheet of enamel of it, on it, burn it, and then it's shiny and the, um, metal looks on the enamel.

Then it's, um, translucent.

This is "Cold Longing For" Longing for something else.

Everybody has a longing for something.

And I have made several longings and I always make, uh, round thing and it means God, heart.

The heart.

Or something in a center.

And so this middle thing will come out or what the longing shall be.

- [Interviewer] I see.

- See, and here, uh, it's made on copper.

On a copper plate.

And made it very thin.

With, uh, enamel powder.

And I made a design and after the design, I have thrown.

I have very small tongs, tools, and uh, and makes us this very thin or thicker wires.

Here I used very thick wires.

Usually I use very thin wires like here.

And now they are very small, um, holes.

When it's burned in the wire.

- [Interviewer] Oh okay.

- And later on, I fill all these holes with colored enamel.

- [Interviewer] Enamel.

So that's, is it not a glass?

- [Hill] Enamel powder.

It's like glass and I burn one of these pictures.

It's a lot of work.

I have to burn it five, six, or seven times.

because I always must do it very very thin that it's shiny.

When I put the color on liquor, it's not shiny.

And it looks damp and not very good.

When I first have started, It was after the world war two and I wanted to be a sculptor.

I worked for nine years in, uh, with sculpture professor and he want me to learn how to, um, draw special things.

And I had to go in an art school.

It was in Schwäbisch Gmünd.

First I was in Stuttgart.

And I was in the art school in Schwäbisch Gmünd.

And saw the first time, uh, enamel.

And I saw it and, and knew that was what I wanted to do.

And I never wanted to be any mere sculpture.

I only wanted to do enameling and I didn't ask my parents and nobody, I run there not to professor Lehmer.

He did this enamel and said "I want to do enamel."

And he says, yes, but you must show what you can do first.

And I had to draw some things and then he took me and I started with him for six semesters for three years.

And I learned Goldsmiths and silversmiths and all techniques of enameling.

- [Interviewer] And then from that time- - And later on I had a workshop, a own workshop and to work together with silver and Goldsmith.

And we did a lot for Catholic churches in the time, chandeliers and tabernacles.

And I made a lot of jewelry in enamel class.

Yes.

And I worked until I had my second child and then my caring was broken.

And my husband was quite happy then.

(laughing) And then I had child number three and child number four.

(laughing) - [Narrator] So you put the enameling off for a while.

- But now the are grown up too my husband died 10 years ago.

And I started five years ago to do it again.

I never thought before I would do it again.

And it's so, I'm so happy to do this.

And when I started to do it I worked day and night and couldn't stop.

And I came out at three o'clock in the morning brushing my teeth, washing my hands and working the whole day.

- [Interviewer] My goodness!

Couldn't stop, long, lot of weeks, I couldn't stop.

It was like, um, I have missed all since 30 years.

(laughing) Yeah.

To do a piece like this it makes perhaps two or three weeks.

It's quite a long time too, because the, between I always must clean it in acid.

And it must be all done very clear and, uh, not, you can't hurry up.

- [Interviewer] They're no shortcuts.

No, you need to provide concentration concentration to do it.

- [Interviewer] Do you draw your design first on paper?

Yes.

I draw it on paper.

And then I make a drawing how to do the wires.

- [Interviewer] Oh, I see.

It's it must be a special drawing.

How to do the wires.

And when I have done this, I make a colored design, with watercolors.

And when I have done this all, I start to do the enamels.

Therefore it's a long, long process.

- [Interviewer] Surely.

Are there many American enamelists?

- [Hill] No.

Now we have every two years an international exhibition for enamelists for the whole world.

And I was there in July to July about for a week.

And there were Chinese and Japanese and from whole Europe!

But there were only three, but I, they, people I work with there.

and only one lady I met there.

and they came all from California.

But no one from whole America and I wondered so very much why.

Why, I'm not sure.

Don't they know it?

Or, where are they?

I should like to give lessons and learn people how to make special techniques!

But I think I can't do it.

I'm going to be sixty now!

(laughing) - [Narrator] Ms. Blanc described her various pieces of art.

- [Hill] When I did see this picture, I was very, very unhappy.

And therefore it's calling "Tears are Falling on the Sun" but (laughing) they are very big.

My, my tears.

But I thought there must be some sun.

And then I made the sun and the tears the sun is drying all the tears.

- [Interviewer] Oh, well, that's very nice.

So did it turn out to be you happy a happy?

- [Hill] Yes.

They are we now.

they're only here in the picture.

(laughing) - [Interviewer] What's the name of this piece?

- [Hill] "Tears are Falling on the Sun."

I don't know if it's good translated.

- [Interviewer] Oh, it's beautiful.

- [Hill] It's in German, Tränen fallen auf die Sonne.

This picture I made for freedom.

And we often see that's word alive is so black.

Like here and all.

Seems to be so dark.

and here is the sun coming to the darkness with the little stuff and planks, shelpy, happiness and light and freedom to the world.

That's my picture for freedom.

And the sun is in it.

I think.

- [Interviewer] When did you make this?

- [Hill] About four years ago.

And now perhaps I can see several young student and he had a face.

It was red on this side and it's a birth mark.

He had a very nice face.

And he said to me, I want to buy this picture.

And I said, I don't think you, you could buy it.

It's expensive.

And he said, I will pay to you and I have overly mine's.

I have some money and I only need stamps.

I will give you all money, what I have.

And I tried to send him a photograph.

I said, when I go back to Germany I sent her your photocopy.

He said, no, I paid that picture I paid.

but I can pay it at once.

I pay every month something.

And I reduced the price very much now because I want he shall have it.

And I think this young and I said, what why do you want to have it?

And in another picture you are so young.

And he said, I can see the light is coming to the darkness.

And he, he looked so serious.

And I think it's because his birth mark children are often not very nice together.

And I think some young students or children have spoken with him in my joke about this.

And now he shall have this one.

It's my peace.

I love it.

I love it from, for my freedom, peace.

Oh, because I want to have peace in the whole world.

but he shall have it.

Now.

I'm so happy that he, um, thinks he's, it's beautiful.

And perhaps it helps him for his life.

Stonehenge.

And it it's a made in it's Barrett in England.

My husband liked it very much.

He liked all Celtic, Celtic people has made.

And we tried it several times to see it.

And when we have been there first time, perhaps 30 years ago, it stood quiet, alone in a field, big, big stones in a circle.

And we were so, so very much impressed.

It's wonderful.

And this is Trilithon.

It's one of the stones from the circle it's called Trilithon because it's three stones.

And it's like a calendar.

The Celtic, It's a very, very special and clever, uh, calendar.

And all of us into the 21st of June, the sun is rising between these three stones.

- [Interviewer] Huh.

- [Hill] Know it well.

It's always the same.

And you know it.

Why?

And it's made about 8,000 before Christ.

We don't know it.

Exactly.

And I love this place very, very, very much.

But when I saw it was the last time, perhaps four years ago now it's all full of cars and you can't see it.

And it's so terrible.

People come from the whole world and all the silence is there now.

And I made this picture only for her name, but Stonehenge.

For the Celtics.

And I, these are the eyes for people who can understand and see what happens there all are over a hundred and hundred years.

- [Interviewer] When you go back, will you make an enameling of America?

- [Hill] I can say now, perhaps.

See, I never know what I do before.

Only when I have something ordered, but I think about and suddenly I do it.

It may be.

- [Narrator] Next up tonight.

The circus comes to town.

This week, the Carson and Barnes circus came to Cookeville for two shows.

The visit by the circus was sponsored by the Cookeville Choanas club to raise money for their community projects.

Over 2000 areas, school children were at the Putnam County fairgrounds Tuesday morning to see the circus animals and watch the big top go up.

(sounds of large crowd) (laughing) - [Woman] Whoa!

I knew he didn't see the elephant.

And they weren't paying attention to the elephant and it was just swinging around and they were seeing and elephant.

- Trey, come over here!

(people yelling) (generator humming) (cirus music) (applause) (applause) (circus music) (applause) (applause) And that's the upper Cumberland camera for this week.

Next week at this time, Becky Robertson will present studio 22.

With more stories of the people and events of the upper Cumberland, here on channel 22.

(smooth music)