About Enamels
Working with enamel has to be one of my favourites. I use proper vitreous enamel, not cold resin. It is time consuming, painstaking work: most pieces require multiple layers of enamel (sometimes 20 or more) each of which must be fired separately. However, I think that the effort is worth it - compared to resins, the vitreous enamels are so much more vibrant.
Enamels come in two main types: opaque and transparent. Opaque (solid) enamels have a much greater intensity of colour, but it is the transparent ones that I much prefer to work with. The scope for blending colours and layering them so that you see one through another is endless.
Enamels come in two main types: opaque and transparent. Opaque (solid) enamels have a much greater intensity of colour, but it is the transparent ones that I much prefer to work with. The scope for blending colours and layering them so that you see one through another is endless.
Here's a piece that I made with two different colours of blue enamel layered to give the tonal range.
When colours are layered, the results are never entirely predictable, but it's very satisfying when things go right. The other aspect of transparent enamels is that the silver underneath can be engraved or patterned in some way to show through the enamel. Engraving is particularly effective because it adds variation in thickness of the enamel, so the pattern shows up in differences in colour intensity. Before applying enamels they must first be prepared by grinding the enamels to a very fine powder using a mortar and pestle, and then repeatedly rinsing them to remove dust. The enamels are then applied to the piece, usually with a fine brush or a goose quill. Typically they are applied in layers only a few grains thick. The enamels are then dried and they are ready for firing. This is done either in a kiln or with a torch. Either way, the temperature is very high (kiln temperatures around 900oC for transparent enamels). |
owever the firing is done, it is an exciting process and seeing the colours develop as they cool from red-heat is magical.
It is also exciting because silver melts at a little over 800oC and silver solders melt between 670oC and 780oC. There is scope for some major disasters! I have included some links to some enamellers whose work I admire greatly over on the links page. They make me feel humble. |