Pilque a Jour

Millenet in Enamelling on Metal states to use larger granules of enamels, consistant in size for plique to aquire a clearer transparent. Also he puts the Klyr Fire against the cell wall then adds the enamel.

Light Up Your Watercolors by Linda Stevens Moyer

Great book on watercolors. She uses the white of the paper to stay bright as we would use our fine silver.

I wanted to add here if you get this book and do the exercise she has for you, it helps you understand more about layering colors to achieve bright colors. Afterwards practice layering in enamels. Yes make color plates and layer some colors as she did. But enamels have to layer in a different order.

Water colors can layer yellows first then reds and pinks followed by the darker colors, like blues and greens. In enameling our warm color burn out so we need to leave them toward the end. So you just have to apply this in reverse. I start with the darkest colors first. Then medium and light colors. As I layer and fire I leave out the darkest color and continue with the medium and light colors. And finally have my lightest color last.

So enamelist add fluxes to the last layers to fill the cell. I have had this get cloudy on me so I continue with color just very light. The warm colors you can start adding about half way through the project using flux for several layers then jumping into the yellows oranges and reds.

Later I will photo color charts and discuss this more! Check back.

Great Book!

Cloisonne Enameling: The opaque white coming into the transparent. I think it was leaking under the cloison wires?

Hello, I had a go with some transparent enamels this time in my cloisonne, but I had a problem with the opaque white coming into the transparent. I think it was leaking under the cloison wires? I tried to fire the opaque and transparent at the same time, I think was a mistake? I think the opaque leaked under the wire at the higher temperature it takes to fire clear?

Thanks for your kind assistance (I need it!)

Geoff,

Your cloisonne work looks great, you have the transparent green nice and clear.  In my experience when you apply the cloison wires and sink them down into the flux you should not have one color moving into other cells. If the wire is not all the way in the flux when you apply the colors the enamel can travel under the cloison wires. Lets say you put in the opaques enamel in all assigned cells of the cloisonne piece, and it is now dry after going all the way around. When you put in the second color = green here, it is wet and will suck the opaque enamels through any open space under the wire. The dry enamels will move toward the water. You even have to be careful the enamel it does not come through on the sides where the cloison wires are not real tight, as I can see here where the dark color enamel pulled through into the aqua cell.

So just check after you sink the cloison wires into the flux enamel that you have complete contact. If you do not I would rather burnish the wires down carefully, as they are very soft now and re-fire. This is common on a domed surface. Also as I work I try to keep the piece damp to avoid this and dry it all at once before firing.

Great job! Patsy

W.W. Carpenter Enamel Foundation Third Biennial “Get Together”

Focus on Fire, the torch, in and out of context

First week of August, 2010

W.W. Carpenter Enamel Foundation, Bellevue, KY

We’ve invited three known individuals who teach torch firing as part of their individual reference as enamelers. Each has their own approach and uniqueness. Each will teach three, two-day workshops. You will have an opportunity to do a workshop with all three instructors.

____________________________________________________________________

Steve Artz is a master carpenter by trade and has been an exhibiting enamelist since his discovery of the luscious medium while attending San Diego State University in 1975. He is well known for his innovative approach to fusing glass to metal and inventive ways of texturing metal. Steve is a working member and former president of both the San Diego Enamel Guild and Enamel Guild West. He is also a former trustee of the Enamelist Society.

“This is the guy to see. Steve is a very inspiriting enamel artist! He is fun, makes the work fun, and creates beautiful pieces! ” Patsy Croft

Out of Print Books

If you are in need of a book that is out of print Skip Pridgen at, books@tappinbookmine.com has been a great resource for me.

Call for Entries

Northern California Enamel Guild 10th International Juried Enamel Exhibition
Deadline:  April 19, 2010

The Northern California Enamel Guild, NCEG, will sponsor its 10th International Juried Enamel Exhibition at Lireille – Gallery of Contemporary Jewelry and Artin Oakland, California September 6 through October 16, 2010.
$25 entry feefor up to two entries.  All entries must have been made in the last 2 years.  All submissions must be for sale.  Applicants do not have to be a member of NCEG to apply, but must be a member of the NCEG to participate in the show.
The exhibition prospectus and entry forms are now available on the NCEG website at http://www.enamelguild.org/NCEG/activitiesExhibition-2010.php.   For more information, contact Anna Tai at email anna@annataienamels.com.

Carving in the Enamel

Some thing you can do to enhance your work is to carve in the enamel. On this Nautilus Pendant I used white Askansas Stones to carve out the shape of the shell’s spiral.

Plam Beach Fine Craft Show

The Palm  Beach Fine Craft Show is this weekend, March 5, 6, 7, and Amy Lyons with Frances Kite and Marianne Hunter are exhibiting. If you are in the Palm Beach area it is a beautiful show and to see these artist work in person is awesome! Check it out.

Northern California International Juried Enamel Exhibition

Double Click on the image to enlarge.

Enameling on Nickel

How to sgrafitto enamel on nickel: I used a copper nickel alloy and liquid flux to enable designs to be drawn into the enamel. The aim was to have dark lines where the oxide formed, to enhance the print-look of the piece. I used watered down wet process flux, and allowed the excess flux to drip off the metal before drying. Below are the stages I used to make my small panels. The enamel can be temperamental- so experiment!

1.Clean the nickel with wire wool – not too shiny as the enamel will not stay on.

2.Brush on a very thin layer of wet process flux and allow it to dry.

3.Scratch the design into the dried enamel.

4.Fire in a hot kiln – 800° or bright orange.

5.Do not put in pickle as the scratched out lines will become pink.

Guild of Enamellers’ Bursary Award for 2010

The Guild of Enamellers is delighted to announce the winner of their annual Bursary Award – Bronagh Mullan who has recently graduated from Birmingham City University, School of Jewellery where her interest in enamelling was sparked when she attended a part-time course by a visiting tutor and practising enameller, Penny Davis. This motivated Bronagh to use enamel throughout her remaining jewellery projects at university, experimenting with opaque and transparent enamels.

The Selectors for the Award were particularly impressed by Bronagh’s rare gift for combining traditional enamelling techniques with modern technology such as laser marking and JewelCAD but all her jewellery is hand-finished. Using plique à jour she brings delicate colourful enamel detail to the more aggressive shapes in her work, harmonizing these two opposing styles to produce a balanced end product. Her passion for enamelling results in well executed detailed pieces in precious metal, incorporating enamel and stone setting in interesting positions.

Bronagh is currently working as a jewellery designer for a manufacturer in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter. Meanwhile in her own time she continues to experiment with enamelling and hopes to exhibit in the New Year. The Guild of Enamellers is proud to support Bronagh’s ambition to further develop her skills.

What is Cloisonne

What is Cloisonne?

Cloisonne (pronounced cloy-zon-ay, French for ”partition”) is an ancient metalwork technique that makes use of small, precious metal filaments and colorful glass enamels to create brilliant artwork. The metal wires are bent into shapes to create small cells, (partitions) of designs, and many coats of finely ground glass enamel are fired into them until one unique piece of art is rendered. Cloisonne is most commonly used in jewelry making, though illustrations of the craft can be found in many facets of the art world, including the production of hand-made dishes, vases and abstract pottery.

Though the art form’s origins are most likely Middle Eastern, Chinese Cloisonne is the most renowned and permeated throughout the world. Cloisonne’s popularity spread quickly throughout Asia and Europe, and examples of the art can be seen in Byzantine

mosaics, inside Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice, and in prized Russian Czarist jewelry. The most notable quality in Cloisonne is the art master’s exceptional attention to detail in creating unique designs from the pure silver base and 24 karat gold filaments. Every design is handcrafted, which guarantees a matchless piece of art each time. Custom designs are often painted on paper with watercolors prior to beginning the process in order to estimate the appearance of the final product.

After the original artwork is decided upon, the metal ribbon like strands of 24 karat gold wire are individually bent, twisted and oftentimes soldered together to produce a blueprint for where the colored enamels will later be painted.

This design is attached to a base of pure silver by firing it with a clear coat of glass enamel in a kiln.

After the silver pendant has cooled from its initial firing, the painting process begins. The metal filaments serve as the pattern for the colorful enamel glass, and the artisan paints only one coat at a time into the design.

The pendant is fired again and again after each consecutive enamel coat. This is a painstakingly delicate practice, but the layering and firing of each coat of glass is critical in achieving a deep, vibrant color scheme for the design. As many as 25 layers of enamel can be added to a single piece of Cloisonne jewelry. After the partitions have been enameled and fired to the artist’s satisfaction,

The pendant is polished and placed in a custom-made, perfectly fit 18-karat gold setting. Each Cloisonne rendering takes multiple weeks of dedicated attention to complete, but the finished product is guaranteed to be worth the wait. Happy Enameling!

Enameling on Steel

When Joseph Trippetti returned from the Army in 1946, he studied for three years at Philadelphia College of Art and the fourth year at Sheffield College of Arts and Crafts in England, where he majored in silversmithing. He has been enameling since the 1950s. For some years he taught enameling and painting before concentrating on commissions and gallery exhibitions. The medieval tapestries still influence his designs. His cloisonnés were on domed copper plaques before he turned to large steel tiles.

Musician: 16″ x 16″, silver cloisonné wires. steel, enamel.

Design is my main interest. My method of enameling has remained about the same these many years. Originally, my work was mainly of cloisonné on domed copper plaques. I trained as a metalsmith. For the past 15 years I have been working on white pre-coated, flanged, steel plaques, ranging in size from 6″ x 6″ to 16″ x 20″. Using the pre-coated, steel tiles I do not have to be concerned with cleaning the metal and applying base coats. The fine silver, rectangular cloisonné wire I use is .010 x .035.

I have two Norman kilns, 15″ x 15 ” x 9″ and 27″ x 24″ x 15″, on a 220V line. They were made for me with the specification to heat within 35 minutes and have fast recovery. Each kiln has a pyrometer, and I fire between 1250°F and 1500°F. My pyrometer has not been checked for years, and so my kiln temperature may be way off a standard, but it works for me. The floor of the kiln is protected with a Fiberfax blanket. Firebricks support the flanged piece in the kiln. I do use a timer, especially for the larger pieces, to remind me to look in the kiln after 31/2 to 4 minutes, at which time the piece is usually about orange peel stage. This method is adequate for all except the final firing. I usually eyeball it. Originally the kiln wires were exposed, but when a pitting problem developed, the wires were changed to be covered in the floor of the kiln.

I start with rough sketches in pencil and then translate the selected one to a full size ink drawing. Using carbon paper, like dressmaker carbon paper that leaves no residue, the pen drawing is transferred to the pre-coated steel plaque. To protect the drawing, I tape a sheet of glass to foam board and make a sandwich into which I slip the drawing. The pen drawing is used as a pattern to bend the cloisonné wires. I form the wires on top of the glass and then position each wire on the transferred design on the plaque.

The tool for bending the wires is one I designed by soldering a handle of the tweezers to one of the handles of a straight bezel shears. The tweezers and my fingers are used to bend the wire; the short blades of the bezel shears cut the wire in place on the glass. My aim is to take the least complicated approach. The cloisonné wires are put in place on the plaque with uncut Klyr-Fyre. After the Klyr-Fyre has dried, the piece is fired. With my kiln at 1300°F, a 16″ x 16″ plaque is placed in the kiln and the timer set for 31/2 to 4 minutes. Subsequent firings are at around 1 300°F to avoid overfiring the piece. Through all the firings, as with silver cloisonné wires on copper, overfiring can cause the wires to sink into the enamel.

I use primarily 80 mesh opaque, leaded, unwashed enamels, though I also have some 150 mesh enamels and some unleaded enamels that I use when I need those colors. To use them all in one piece, the unleaded enamel needs to be under the leaded enamel and not on top. The enamels, wet with water, are wet packed with a brush almost to the top of the wires, and then the piece is tapped to level out the enamel and fired. Before each firing, any opaque enamel on the wires is removed with a fine pointed brush. It usually takes about 8 to 10 applications of the enamel, tapping and firing for the fired enamel to reach almost the top of the wires.

The final firing, with just a thin sifting of either soft or medium flux over the whole piece, is a healthy firing with the kiln at 1500°F before inserting the plaque into the kiln. I do not wet the piece for the sifted coat. My sifters are made of SO mesh screen bent into open boxes in square or rectangular shapes. The square ones are about 21/2″ x 1/2″ deep. I also have ones that I soft soldered together out of brass tubing.

I do not remove the veil of flux from the wires after the final firing. This coating protects the fine silver wires from discoloring. You need to be careful not to overfire this final firing in order to prevent the flux on the wires from balling up. For me, the most important stage in the making of each enamel is the pen drawing of my design.

This is from the book Enameling with Profressionals, by Lilyan Bachrach

Excellent Work!

Good Staurday Morning Readings

www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/czars-gold.htm

eclats d’Email DVD

If you have not seen the new dvd from Europe check it out. It can be ordered from Thompson’s Enamel.

It completely amazes me how long man has been enameling and yet how differently we all go about this.  Rio and GRS would really not like how simply the artist work, really minimalist in their tools.

I truly believe the ones making money today are the suppliers not the artist. We really need to rethink, the tool does not make it happen.

Robert Moussant’s work in grisaille is beautiful! Great work and information.  And a link to order,  www.emoluxe.com

The Association for the Study of Jewelry and Related Arts

The Association for the Study of Jewelry and Related Arts wil be presenting its 5th Annual Conference Saturday, May 15, 2010. In New York City

www.jewelryconference.com/

Having Excellent Speakers! Check it out.

Enameling on Argentium 970

This seem like a wonderful opportunity to use Argentium instead of fine silver for applications such as plique a jour. I am anxoius to experiment with the Argentium in this medium. I have enameled on it just and did not see the advantage of Argentium verses Fine Silver, for cloiosnne, but for the application of plique a jour it is a stronger surface.

I hesitate to use fine silver in larger pieces and have use 18k gold in it place because of the durability. But with the cost of gold these days Argentium could come in very handy. Sterling sliver is not one of my favorites due to the fire scale developing during the enameling process. There are acids one can use to remove this but then there is always the problem of discoloring your enamels.

Enameling on Palladium

Enamelling Palladium: Exploration

Rachel Gogerly recently had the opportunity to extend her knowledge and skills enamelling Palladium, a ‘new’ metal to the jewellery industry, which as yet has little technical information recorded on how well or not it enamels.
This opportunity came about with the introduction of Palladium hallmarking in the UK this year and to commemorate this, the Wardens of Birmingham Assay Office commissioned a new Badge of Office for their Assay Master Michael Allchin. Designed and made by Silversmith and Palladium expert, Martyn Pugh, it was the first Palladium piece to be marked in Birmingham.
The design included various symbols, including the depiction of the atomic structure of Palladium and at its centre, the Anchor, which has been the town mark of the Birmingham Assay Office since it was founded in 1773. Flames on one section of the badge (representing cupellation, the traditional method of fire assaying) required enamelling and it was this section that Rachel was invited to create vibrant transparent colours of red, orange and yellow.

Starting with no experience of working with enamel on Palladium and not knowing if it could be enamelled or to what quality, a number of samples and some experimentation were required to establish how best to proceed. There were four main questions Rachel wanted answered, ‘Can Palladium be enamelled? And if so, what preparation is required? Can consistent good quality results be achieved? Finally, how does Palladium influence the appearance of transparent enamel?’
In conclusion, Palladium enamels very well and like copper, can be hard fired. Unlike Silver and Gold, it does not melt if left in the kiln for a few seconds longer!! However, it does influence transparent colours greatly, making them more muted –flux looks grey on Palladium (see image 1), so it is likely that foils will need to be used with certain colours especially reds and yellows.

Subsequent samples allowed exploration of preparation methods, the best one being cleaning the surface thoroughly with a glass brush to remove any oxide dirt and grease. Standard pickles and nitric acid do not clean the Palladium metal surface in any way. Brightening the surface with engraving before enamelling the Palladium also helped to give more ‘life’ to any transparent colours used.

Because the colour of Palladium was influencing the colours significantly, it was necessary to use Gold foil under the enamel to get the vibrancy of the reds and yellows required to represent flames for this particular piece. The advantage of being able to fire the Palladium at a high temperature, between 950’ – 1000’c, meant it was easier to get the foil very smooth before applying the subsequent layers of colour.

Both the initial coat of clear enamel (flux) and the foil were hard fired and good clarity of colour was achieved by further hard firings when applying the all the remaining transparent enamels.

Those Wires Can Be Hard to Stand Up!

Question – what do you use as a glue (besides Klyr Fire) for Cloisonne Wire?  I heard of something called “no spit” or vac u coat??  Appreciate your comment.  Debra Long

Hi Debra,

If you are needing a solution stronger than Klyr Fire try tragacanth. It is available on line and the best results I have had, is if I add water to the powder and let it sit over night to get a good creamy consistency. It does not take that much. And after firing, it turns to ash so brush it off before applying another coat of enameling.

If this is not enough to hold the cloison wires for your application I move to fusing the wires to the fine silver.

Thanks for the visit!
Patsy

Some enamelists use lily root powder for vertical surfaces. It can be purchased from Coral Shaffer at Enamelwork Supply in Seattle.
Barb P.

If you’re using fine silver cloisonne wire on fine silver backing you can also use Art Clay Silver’s Oil Paste or homemade lavender oil paste and fire in a kiln first. These are metal clay products that are designed to join fired metal clay to fired metal clay or any fine silver to any other fine silver metal.

Lora Hart

Enameling on Copper

Question
I am new to enameling. I have read up gotten a couple of dvd’s and looking to do some work mostly on copper as my free time allows. I have been buying all my supplies for when that time comes. i am confused though on all the different clear enamles and when to use what. There soft fusing, hard fusing, golden clear and so on. I do a bit of etching and was going to do some wet packing and thought about using the clear on the copper to help avoid the copper aging, some like it some others like it bright. I thought the enamel would be a much better finish then the lacquers you can dip your copper in. Any explanation on the different clears and their uses would be cool.

Thanks Tom

Tom,
Here is a simple guild from Thompson’s Enamel

Medium Temperature – Medium Expansion
Enamels for copper, gold, silver and low carbon steel
Coefficient of expansion range: 258-360 cubic expansion

Medium Temperature – Low Expansion
Enamels for window glass & 400 series (magnetic) stainless steel
Normal firing range: 1350 – 1450 deg. F for fusing

Coefficient of expansion range: 80 linear expansion

High Temperature – Medium Expansion
Enamels for stained glass and hot glass blowing
Normal firing temperature range for fusing: 1400 – 1550 deg. F
Coefficient of expansion: 90 – 96 linear expansion
Compatible with Bullseye and Spectrum glass

Opaque Enamels for Effetre (Moretti) Glass
Coefficient of expansion: 104 linear expansion

So medium is what you would order. I suggest you get a catalog from Thompson’s Enamel 859-291-3800. Check out this page, http://www.thompsonenamel.com/products/colorchart/mtmeo.htm These are lead free enamels. Or try Enamel Work Supply Co.. Coral- 206-525-9271 http://www.enamelworksupply.com/ you can see on the left side of her page is the color charts for what you need but these are leaded enamels. There are other companies but lets keep it simple.

Everyone has their opinion on the leaded verses the unleaded. I started with the leaded and stated there. I commend you start with one and get to know the colors by making color plates. Theses are small 1/2″ square plates of copper you can use for each color or a larger plate with several colors of the same family. When you order ask for a flux for copper. You will need to clean the copper with comet and it will be nice and shiny. There are other products but like I said keep it simple. If you put enamel on both sides at the same time it is best . Do this by first adding Klyr Fire to the back enamel only, apply and let it dry enough to turn over and apply the front flux and fire. Fire at 1450 till fused. This will give you a beautiful golden canvas to work with. Now you apply small dots of the colors you want to use in your compositions and fire. So you have built a color plate.

I would not worry about preserving the copper. As the comet will clean it right up and be ready to use, when you have time to play!

So the only clear you want is flux for copper. Then play with the transparent colors. If you call Coral and tell her you want several blues for copper and several greens etc. she will set you up. Of course tell her you are working with copper! And don’t forget the flux.

Happy Enameling! And thanks for the visit. Patsy