At their studio in southern
West Virginia, cameo carvers
Kelsey Murphy and Robert
Bomkamp collaborate in designing remarkable works of art for
production in distinctive Fenton glass colors.
Kelsey and Robert are
"Cameo Artists," and more than one excited collector has described
these unique art glass creations as "simply breathtaking." Their
workplace, called
Cameo carving is a
painstaking process, requiring both great artistic talent and
considerable
manual dexterity. After the
glass has been annealed, a special mask is firmly taped to its
surface.
Then, using advanced
"vignetting" techniques, each individual piece must be meticulously
sandcarved.
Fenton cameo carvers,
personally trained by Kelsey and Robert, use aluminum oxide
crystals under pressure to
take away some of the surface. Great skill and experience are needed
to
control this process, since
many distinct stages of successive cameo carving may be required to
create the remarkable
depth, delicate shading, and intricate details. Each piece designed by
Kelsey and Robert is truly
unique.
Collectors worldwide have
come to appreciate the cameo artistry of Kelsey Murphy and Robert
Bomkamp. All of us at
Fenton Art Glass look forward to working with Kelsey and Robert on
future projects.
