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.