In Memoriam: Florentina Nichols

摘要

Florentina was trained as a social anthropologist and worked in Trinidad, the Amazon, the former Yugoslavia, and throughout the Midwestern United States. She became interested in metalwork in 1973, after taking a class with Heikki Seppa at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. She pursued her interests off and on until 1995, when she decided to become a full-time artist. In order to broaden and improve her skills, she studied fabrication with Brian Clarke in Wicklow, Ireland and embossing with Maria Fernandez in Mexico City, Mexico. In 1994, she was introduced to enamels for which she felt an immediate affinity. She studied with Entire Turi at the International Studio of Enamel Art in Kecskemet, Hungary, and at Rein Metsallin in Estonia, focusing on camaieu. In addition to her art, she was interested in Neolithic tools and ancient techniques.