Janine Partington

Janine is a vitreous enamel artist based in Bristol. She combines the traditional craft of enamelling with fresh, clean, contemporary design.

Janine grew up in Wolstanton, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. Her Sri Lankan mother Ione studied ceramics as a mature student at North Staffordshire Polytechnic and met her father Enos there who was one of the part-time Fine Art and Ceramics lecturers. Creativity was an important part of Janine's life from an early age, surrounded by her mother's pieces on display in their home and her father's home-based studio.

Janine obtained a BA in History of Art, Design and Film from Sheffield Polytechnic and an MA in Museum studies from Leicester University in the early 1990s. She worked as a museum curator and later as an administrator.

In 2002, whilst taking a career break to have children, Janine took a part-time evening adult education course at Filton College, Bristol in enamelling - the art of fusing glass on to metal. In 2007, Janine was elected as a member of the Devon Guild of Craftsmen, becoming a Trustee in 2014. She creates intricate hand-cut stencils which are then laid on to copper. Her stencils are inspired by trees, flowers, seed heads and the landscape. After sifting powdered enamel over a stencil she fires each piece in a kiln. Janine spends much of her time designing and creating new panels for her collections.