Part III, The Epilogue - Enamelling

And Finally........

Enamelling; A world of possibilities, a world of frustration.

I borrowed a couple of books from the library to try and trouble-shoot a few issues I've been having, but instead they ended up giving me loads more ideas for things to try.  I also discovered some really amazing enamel artists which was inspiring and demoralising at the same time.

              Charles Lewton-Brain Pendant

Charles Lewton-Brain is the guy who runs the Ganoskin technical jewellery website, and also the translator of the book I was on about last time.  Top chap, obviously. Check his books out here.  Quite a few on my wishlist, especially Cheap Tricks in the Tool Shop.

                   

 

I wanted to do the proper scientific thing and make a test strip of reds, pinks and purples as technically they're more tricky to do.  Still haven't really managed to master it, despite firing at the correct temperature.  Maybe have been too slack in my preparation (me?!).  I did at least get a few colours to come out ok so it was worth it.  And I can say I've done scientific stuff too.






It looks quite pretty anyway (mackerel, anyone?), but as usual I have no idea how I could replicate a lot of it.  Yes, I did make notes but that doesn't always help.

Usually I apply enamels by sprinkling them on dry - this suits my style and enables me to build up lost of layers of subtle colours.  Sometimes, however, you need a consistent, flat area of colour within a border and for this you need to 'wet pack' the enamel.  This involves washing and mixing the enamel with water and packing it into the area you want to fill.  I'd never really got on with this before and found it annoying, but in a rare moment of perfectionism I decided I really should be able to do it.  And I could!  I think the problem before was that the enamel wasn't wet enough, so wouldn't stay where I wanted it to.

 

Evolution. Is it a bird, is it a fish? 

(Ignore the stone, I told you I'm still practising the setting)

 There's gold leaf underneath the garnet enamel which really shines out nicely I think.

Plus, check out my filigree!

I used a more painterly approach in the piece below.  This was a pendant based on a cabbage leaf I made in my first evening class at Leeds College of Art waaaaaay back in the mid-nineties.  It had been hanging around for years and nearly sent for scrap several times, but then it dawned on me that it was a prime candidate for a bit of wet packing, so that's what I did.  There are lots of layers of colours here, plus gold foil in some areas.  Had a disaster when one of the colours went really muddy so I had to use a stone to take it right back and start again.  Still needs a bit of a clean-up at the edges but I quite like it - a bit Art Nouveau, n'est pas?

Next on the list was melting, etching and printing from aluminium, but that's for another time.

I've so enjoyed giving myself time to experiment and have woken up with a spring in my step every morning - I thoroughly recommend it :)

Oh yes, the book I borrowed from the library and found really inspirational and full of new techniques was The Art of Fine Enamelling by Karen L Cohen (quite difficult to find to buy, also expensive).  Also First Steps in Enamelling by good old Jinks McGrath is really good for the basics.

And there's More...Experimentation week Part II

So.  I expect all to be on tenterhooks to hear about my further adventures.

Thursday - Fusing, etching and rolling 

I'd read quite a lot and been inspired by the excellent book The Jewellers Directory of Decorative Finishes by Jinks McGrath.  Especially wanted to try etching then fusing metals, followed by rolling and pressing them with other etched & textured pieces to see what occurred.

Fusing basically means joining metals together without the use of solder.

Reading for futher info my new Goldsmithing book (too light a word for such a bibilical work of technical geekery), by the marvellously named Professor Dr Erhard Brepohl and translated from the original German by the guy who runs the encyclopaedic Ganoskin website, I came across a quote which most jewellers will relate to:

'Every goldsmith discovers fusing, usually by accident and usually as a mistake, when pieces being soldered are overheated'

Oh yeah, I hear you there, Professor Doctor.

He also explained how the technique had been much frowned upon in the past as just things going a bit (very) wrong, but that now it was OK, as long as it is used as a definite part of a design, and works better in contrast with areas of simple shiny metal. In other words, I suppose, a phrase oft-used by me, and handed down from my mother, it needs to 'look meant'.

It also gave me a chance to use my new splendid Sievert torch with ultra-needle flame to really focus the heat on specific parts of the metal.  I made a video, but unfortunately since I couldn't zoom, you couldn't see what I was doing. It would have been fabulous otherwise, AND you couldn't see my double chin.

ANYWAY, here's what I did:

First experiment, working on the principle that fine silver (100% silver as opposed to sterling which is 7.5% copper) doesn't tarnish:

The bird is fine silver, fused to sterling silver which has been reticulated (heated so it distorts, melts, ripples and can be moved about).

I really like this effect, which will be heightened when I get round to emerying and polishing the bird to a high shine, and patinating the Sterling to darken it further.  Sometimes I struggle with getting the contrast I want in my pieces, and I think this could be quite a revolutionary discovery for me.


Moving on.....

This is a piece of fine silver which I'd already etched, onto which I laid slivers of gold.  The whole piece was heated until the gold melted and fused into the silver.  I also (carefully!) melted the top edges of the piece to make a random landscap-y pattern, and the hole melted into it was of course entirely intentional.

Fine silver wire woven into a pattern and fused on to a piece of sterling.
The blue/green mottling is flux (borax) used to help everything flow.

The first piece fused onto the second piece.  This has the potential to be a pretty good landscape, and I'll probably attempt to set a stone in a gold bezel in the top left-hand corner. (More practice, yay!)

Then a less successful attempt at rolling, fusing, etching, more fusing and rolling.  I do like the hole though!

 Some stages were quite good and I can't find the photos.  But some of the fine silver seemed to get lost or etched away (strange, as I would have thought the sterling would etch before the fine silver, having more copper content) and the gold seemed to get absorbed.  According to Jinks McGrath (another great name), this can happen when 9ct gold gets too hot and dissolves into the silver.

So lots more to play about with, but rather expensive experiments when gold's involved. A day isn't nearly enough to explore all those layers of possiblities (rubbing hands together with glee, then rubbing hands together with brie, which is a lot more smelly.*)

I think I'll also experiment more with the different metals fused together and their subsequent reaction to etching as there are exciting possibilities here.

Next time, enamelling........

*Apologies to Andy Stanton, author of the Mr Gum books, another must-read when all the goldsmithing geekery gets too much.

Experimentation Week

Experimentation week

I'm splitting this into a couple of parts to stop me going on for too long (ha!).

I've so enjoyed this last week of just playing about with some ideas that have been hovering around for ages.  A lot of them I think have the potential to become part of my work in the future, but as usual the problem isn't a lack of ideas but too many.  At least this week I've had a chance to find out exactly how things work with each other, and I've also had a good old practise of stone-setting.

Plan of Action

 I was pretty organised about what to do each day, so I didn't feel overwhelmed but stuck to task.  The post-its allowed me to move stuff around as necessary for a bit of flexibility though (everyone needs a bit of flexibility, right?) Each day was also given a page of ideas to try.

As usual my sketchbook was rather a list of notes and thoughts rather than actual sketches - that always seems to be the way I work - using the materials & techniques as I work with them rather than having a specific end in sight.  It was a luxury to give myself permission to do this by giving myself time to experiment, rather than feel guilty about veering off track away from something different I was supposed to be doing.

Monday:

Experimenting with etching aluminium plates.

I'd done this a couple of years ago at the printmaking workshop, but wanted to try it again, and see whether it was something that could be incorporated into my work.  A jeweller friend had been talking to me about dyed aluminium and it set me thinking about how plain aluminium can actually be polished up really nicely, and is light and inexpensive, so a good vehicle for larger pieces that become prohibitively expensive in silver.  (Am I doing a good job of not going on?.......)

Anyway, here are what I came up with.  They were etched using various resists in copper sulphate (that bright blue stuff that reminds you of chemistry lessons). If you want to find out more, there's a recipe and instructions here.  I found this solution very aggressive, so you may want to water it down a bit more, or use a colder solution.

Top left had deposits of copper from the copper sulphate totally by accident (usually they're brushed off during the etching process but these stayed even through cleaning).  Further work needed to repeat this as I LOVE it! 

Top right was just a play about with different resists and etching, but am enjoying the use of the Spirograph appropriated from No. 2 son (a selfless Christmas gift).

Bottom right was inspired by an ink and wash of trees I did years ago and keep returning to. I think am definitely going to develop this further and hopefully develop into some larger jewellery pieces.

I had planned to move on to printing from these, but other priorites took over.  It's still a plan though - I need to get some new pieces ready for the Hepworth Print Fair in March.


Tuesday:

Stone Setting Practice

At the beginning of the month, I went on a stone setting course with Penny Davis at the incomparable West Dean College.  I've gone on about this place before but it really should be prescribed to all artistic type people. I went there to do it because I knew I needed imprisoning in one place for 3 days to make me persevere with a skill I've never got on with but always felt that, as a self-respecting jeweller, I should learn to do properly.  Also their tutors are top-notch, and it was wonderful to be taught by someone with decades of experience.  I learnt so much, not just about the stone setting, but lots of other hints and tips for working jewellers.  Being largely self-taught, it's a real treat.

ANYWAY, One of the key things I came away with was that you can learn the techniques, but then it's down to practice, practice, practice.  So I resolved to keep going with it while the techniques were fresh in my mind, as I have a terrible habit of being the eternal student but not capitalising on the new skills I've learned.

Here's my first bezel setting from the course:

I'd been wanting to use stones as part of my landscapes for ages, so I set it into an old silver etched piece, then set that into a bit of brass with copper I had lying about.  I knew I wouldn't be selling my first stone-setting effort so that took the pressure off and I just made something I liked.

And here are a couple of things I started there and then finished off this week.  Flush setting - probably not to be my thing, but a good skill to learn, and not to lose through lack of practice!

Etched & filed silver & copper rings with flush set Cubic Zirconia

As you will see, I need to practise, and I'm not sure I'll be flush setting things in a row much in the future.  (Rings not finished either, lest ye judge).

On Wednesday morning I'd scheduled in coffee & a natter with friends/colleagues (another new year's resolution - to build in time to see friends once a week without feeling guilty about it) and this arrived on Tuesday, so despite my plan, Weds afternoon was a bit of a write-off (but it did teach me lots about what I was planning to do later in the week, so that was alright, wasn't it?).

Part 2 next week, if I haven't forgotten everything.