I have been enameling for about 3 years. It’s a difficult art because there are a lot of variables to learn. The first being the color that comes out after you fire your piece. Learning which colors do well and which ones burn out which is just a matter of time and practice using a lot of different colors. The other variable is learning about the kiln temperatures and time to leave your piece in the kiln. Since this is a learning curve, I don’t think about making masterpieces but playing around to discover what works and what doesn’t to become more proficient.
The 2 mediums that you can use to enamel are copper and fine silver. I took a forging/fold-forming class and thought it would be fun to make some shapes and bowls to enamel on. This way I can keep the enameling basic and let the shape of work be interesting/artful. Shockingly my first one turned out great (it’s always daunting when the first one works and your not sure if you will have as much success on the second).
After shaping and cleaning, I put a clear glaze on the inside. I roughly cleaned off the firescale and fired the outside with a clear glaze as well. I love the patina that the copper takes on from the kiln. The shame of it is that you loose some of the depth of the patina when you refire. This is a picture of the first one I did with more pictures to follow. The next ones I will experiment with other colors of enamel on the outside using opaques and transparence.
I love taking a sheet of metal and creating a piece of art with your hands...
