It may be a cliché, but enameling is one of those techniques that takes a minute to learn, but a lifetime to master. If you've ever wanted to try enameling, don't be intimidated, it's very easy to get started. Enameling is great because you can get very satisfying results right away, but with practically endless enameling techniques to try, you will never get bored! This tutorial will teach you the basic first steps of enameling- how to fire a coat of enamel onto a flat metal piece. Enameling is the art of fusing glass to metal. The basic procedure for enameling is to apply the enamel to clean metal, and heat the piece either in a kiln or with a torch to a temperature of 1500 degrees or so, until the glass enamel melts and fuses to the metal. Enamels come in powdered and liquid forms, but powder is more commonly used because it is easier to apply and comes in a wider range of colors. Enamel can be fused to gold, fine silver, copper, and steel. You can enamel on sterling silver too if you depletion gild or "bring up the fine silver" first, but that would be a whole different tutorial. I would recommend starting with copper, because it is very inexpensive compared to gold and silver, and it is very easy to work with. Safety: The main safety issue when working with enamels is the heat. Make sure you are firing away from flammable materials, on a heat proof surface. Don’t leave your kiln unattended when it is hot. If you are using a larger kiln, you will want heat proof gloves to protect your hands. Wear tinted safety glasses to protect your eyes from the light of the torch or kiln. If you are sensitive to dust, you may want to wear a dust mask when sifting enamel. Materials: -Copper sheet, 18 or 20 gauge and jeweler's saw or disc cutter to cut out shapes OR -Precut copper shapes from an enamel or jewelry supply company -80 mesh enamels- you can get enamels from various places, but I like Thompson Enamel -Holding agent- this is an organic gum solution that acts as a sort of glue to hold the enamel powder on the metal -Sifter- you can buy these in various sizes from enamel supply companies or make your own by cutting the bottom out of a plastic cup and gluing in a piece of fine screen -Jeweler's file -Tweezers -Ball Clay or Scalex (optional) - This is a clay slip like substance used to coat the un-enameled side of a piece during firing. -Pickle Pot and Copper Tongs- to clean metal OR -Pumice powder, scouring powder, or commercial metal cleaner to clean metal. For Kiln Firing: -Kiln- there are two basic types of kilns. The cheaper kind (which I have) is called a beehive or hotplate kiln. It's basically a heating element set inside a round chamber with a domed lid. This kiln is great for doing small pieces, but it does have its limitations. The other kind of kiln is like a little oven with a door that opens in the front. These can accommodate larger pieces, and you can get them with fancy features like temperature controls and shutoff cycles. -Metal Spatula or fork- for moving pieces in and out of the kiln -Firing Supports- Trivets and/or wire screens. The firing support should hold the enamel while firing and allow you to transport the enamel piece in and out of the kiln with your spatula. The trivet is made with three or more angled metal arms that hold the enamel by its edges. Some trivets have built in legs so you can slide your spatula under them to move them. Some trivets don't have legs and need to be placed on a wire mesh firing screen with the corners bent down. You can also improvise a piece of steel with bent down corners to set your trivets on (see the firing photos below) For Torch Firing: -Torch- Any kind of torch used for jewelry making will work. I use a super basic propane torch from the hardware store. It's inexpensive and convenient, but doesn't get hot enough to fire pieces larger than 1" in diameter. Acetylene and propane/oxygen torches get hotter, and can fire larger pieces. -Firing supports- Trivets. For torch firing you need something you can get your torch under to fire the enamel from below. A tall enough trivet will work or you can get a tripod with a mesh screen on top and set your trivet on that. Preparing the metal: -Cut the shape you want out of copper sheet, or use a precut shape. -If you want to dome or otherwise form the metal, do it now. -Clean the metal- I find the best way to do this is to heat the metal to a dull red with a torch to burn off all the dirt and oil, and then pickle it. Otherwise, you can scrub your metal with pumice powder or household scouring powder, or use a commercial copper cleaner. Once your metal is clean don’t touch it! The oils from your fingers will prevent the enamel from adhering properly. Use tweezers to pick up the metal. Sifting the first coat: -You will want to enamel both sides of your metal. The enamel on the back of the piece is called the counter enamel. If both sides of the piece will be visible when finished, choose an appropriate color. If the back will not be seen, you can use mixed odds and ends of enamel. -When firing the first coat of enamel, the other side will be blackened by the heat of firing. There are two ways to deal with this. You can use ball clay or scalex to coat one side of the metal before applying enamel to the other side. This is a sort of clay like product that protects the metal during firing. You just paint it on and after firing it flakes off the metal. Otherwise, you can just enamel one side and then pickle the piece to remove the oxidation from the bare metal. I prefer this method, because it seems to work better and it’s less messy. -Holding your metal in a pair of tweezers, either spray or paint on a thin layer of holding agent. You want just enough to hold the enamel powder onto the metal, not a big puddle. -When sifting the enamel, you can set the metal piece on a piece of glossy magazine paper to catch the extra enamel. If you are making a larger piece, it helps to put a something under the metal to lift if up off the paper and make it easier to pick up. A soda bottle cap works nicely. Otherwise, you can hold the piece in a pair of cross-lock tweezers directly over the jar of enamel while you sift. I like to do this when making small pieces. -Put some enamel in your sifter, and gently tap the sifter with your finger to springle enamel onto the metal. You want to apply a thick enough layer of enamel to cover all the metal, but not too thick. It might take a few tries to get it just right, so do some experimenting. -Once the enamel is applied, let the holding agent dry completely before firing. If you try to fire a piece before it is completely dry, the liquid will boil away causing enamel to pop off of the piece. If you are kiln firing, you can set the piece on its firing support on top of the kiln lid to dry. If you are torch firing, you can set the piece on its firing support and very carefully heat it from below to dry it. Kiln firing: -Use your spatula to transfer the piece on its firing support into the kiln. Firing times vary depending on the enamel color, the thickness of application, and the size of the piece, so you can’t really time the firing. Take a peek every so often to see how the piece is progressing. First the enamel will start to melt into an orange peel texture, then it will fuse fully and smooth out. -Once the enamel is fully fused, use the spatula to remove the piece from the kiln. Let it cool on its firing support Torch firing: -With the enamel piece on its firing support, heat the piece from below with your torch. The enamel will blacken where the torch hits it. You will be able to see the progression of the enamel melting and fusing to the metal. Even if you are using a kiln, I would recommend torch firing a piece to get a better understanding of what happens during the firing process. Sifting additional coats: -File the edges of the metal to remove any oxidation or stray enamel. You will need to do this after each coat you fire. -Clean the un-enameled side of the metal thoroughly. -Sift a coat of enamel onto the un-enameled side. -Dry and fire as before. -Continue to apply coats of enamel until you are satisfied with the appearance of your piece. Chances are your first coat won’t look so great. It may be uneven or bumpy. As you apply more enamel, you will get more even colors and a smoother surface. Three coats of enamel will usually give pretty good results. Try layering different colors of enamel. Experimentation is key when learning how to enamel, so get yourself a bunch of little pieces of copper and go to town.
Some pics of the main techniques we used in last Saturday's class!I hope you try this out and find all kinds of great ways to use this tech...
Welcome to a new series… A few weeks ago, in my newsletter, I shared my new Goals and Plans for the business this year. One of those new goals is to learn to draw jewelry.This short term goal…
It may be a cliché, but enameling is one of those techniques that takes a minute to learn, but a lifetime to master. If you've ever wanted t...
Welcome to a new series… A few weeks ago, in my newsletter, I shared my new Goals and Plans for the business this year. One of those new goals is to learn to draw jewelry.This short term goal…
Some pics of the main techniques we used in last Saturday's class!I hope you try this out and find all kinds of great ways to use this tech...
Bobbin lace, also known as pillow lace, is a method of making lace by weaving threads held on bobbins and pinning them to a pattern pinned to a pillow.
It may be a cliché, but enameling is one of those techniques that takes a minute to learn, but a lifetime to master. If you've ever wanted t...
Make your own flux with Boric Acid and Denatured Alcohol Boric Acid and Denatured Alcohol make a wonderful flux for preventing firescale on your work. These items can easily be found at your local grocer or hardware store. Boric acid is also non-toxic for people, making it a great alternative to fluoride based fluxes. (Boric Acid is, however, toxic to insects - so can serve double-duty keeping your studio insect free!) Denatured Alcohol can be toxic if ingested, so do make sure to keep it out of reach of children and pets. Spoon a little bit of the boric acid powder into a small dish. (It is best to use a dish with a tight fitting lid, such as a baby food jar, as the alcohol will evaporate quickly without.) Add the alcohol slowly, mixing until a thin paste is made. Add more boric acid powder as needed to thicken. Getting the right consistency can take a bit of trial and error - I tend to prefer my flux a little on the watery side. Brush on a liberal amount of flux over the entire surface, or, dip the entire piece in flux. Place on soldering surface, and light with torch to burn off alcohol. It will produce a lovely green flame. Continue soldering and pickling as usual. Due to the flammability of Denatured Alcohol, it is best to store it in a secure area away from your soldering station.
Value refers to the gradation of light and dark. Black and white values are achromatic. All colors have a value as well (ex. primary yellow is a lighter value than violet). In general, dark values recede whereas light values advance. Observe in the drawing above, all negative areas (background and interior folds) are darker than the flat surface areas and thus recede. Values are influenced by the lighting conditions as well as the planar structure of forms. There are six categories of light illustrated in the photograph above. The Italian word "Chiaroscuro" means light-dark. Value Patterns may be used to reinforce the compositional or design structure. Value patterns establish movement, tension and unity through similarity. Open-value compositions allow values to cross over form and space integrating the shape boundaries. Such is the case in drawings and paintings with soft edge or blended forms. Closed-value compositions contain values within the edges and boundaries of shapes creating clarity within a composition. Such is the case in the painting above. The sharpness and clarity of the image is attributed to the crisp and clean line work of the edges of the shapes.
Learn more about it here: www.allthingspaper.net/2016/07/quilled-silver-jewelry-art...
Gustav Klimt Jewelry: Make Gustav Klimt inspired jewelry with this simple craft stick DIY!
Writing your name in binary code on a bracelet or necklace makes great STEM fun for kids! Plus more fun STEM learning activities for kids.
Design according to Victor Papanek (Whom I’m currently enamoured by) is a conscious effort to impose meaningful order. It is broad enough to cover a lot of areas but succinct. The place calle…
"The style always depends on the project. To me, minimalism is only a part of a very wide spectrum. "
In this two day intensive, students will learn how Procreate can be used for sketching, refinement, and delivering a final piece — all on the iPad. This course will cover...
2017 Topic 16: Rustification Hello everyone, it's Leandra here with you tonight, before we launch into the new topic, which I sense you are all going to LOVE! Let's see who won the last challenge for the Pearlescent topic! The winner is: Craftyfield from Crafty Endeavours She got on a bit of a roll with challenge entries over the last 2 weeks, and even snuck an entry in at the 11th hour of the challenge deadline! The random number fell on her black and white entry, but all of them were quite different with a touch of pearlescent about them all! Congratulations! Email Darcy to claim your prize. [email protected] So we had no shortage of bloggers wanting to play with rust for the new topic, and that doesn't surprise me, as the whole concept of making things look rusty has been super popular in mixed media circles for the last few years. Whether you are working onto fabrics, wood, metal, even glass, creating a rust patina can be done in all kinds of ways, and in this post I'm going to share a few with you. Please feel free to join in the blog challenge by linking your own creativity at the foot of this post to any of you online social media links. Experiments from Alice Fox onto fabric with objects that can be rusted. There are loads of photos from Alice on Pinterest, it is a good way to get some inspirational ideas of how you could rust fabric... I particularly loved the blog post she shared of an exhibition, the piece below was one on show. It is fascinating how rusty fabric is so popular, yet lots of Artists create their own take and pull together the inspirations in different ways and methods. Jennifer Coyne has created a rust effect by printing onto teabags. You can see the process in this link here, where she took a photo and then extrapolated that onto teabags. She explains on her blog how she stitched it all together to create a much larger print. You will need to follow a few posts on her blog to understand how it all came together! Amazing! As below a work in progress... And then here is the finished piece being exhibited. See here. I also loved discovering about Jule Mallet She also uses her fabrics rusted in all kinds of ways to create a wide range of objects, dimensional and flat! and she makes prints... Even displaying rusty fabric can be done simplistically to great effect. And one of our own designers, Lin Brown, is also a dab hand at rusty fabric too, here is just one photo from her blog, but there are more if you follow the link. I adore how she brings her layers together so perfectly! Charlotte Hupfield, a ceramicist, is inspired by pieces like this rusty panel.... ... to inspire her when creating her ceramic art such as the samples below. Cracks, layers, light and dark. Beautiful! and how amazing is this! Take a bureau, add some paint, tadaaa. Here is our own mixed media specialist at rusting things...or at least, using Frescos to make something look rusty! Nikki Acton is a genius at this, see the details here on her blog. She has many posts using paints to create rusty effects, and the example below is gogeous with thos classic colours of patina and rust! The textured heart allows for shades to play in the light. Totally gorgeous, love the crackles too! Plus she gets loads of Seth Apter stamps and dies in the mix so cleverly! Deb blogged this piece over at Paxton Valley Folk Art , such a beaut using all kinds of products, including metal tape, embossed and coloured, die-cut shapes painted, and the whole frame ebellished. And here is Finnabair with one of her typical layered compositions. The cool thing about this idea, layers of textured objects, is you can apply any colour of paint to your base layer, then create a rust effect from there. This could be purely with paints and stippled layers, tickled with Treasure Gold waxes, or (and I've been wanting to try this for ages) ...how about painting shades of patina blue/greens onto the base, and then applying Rusting Powder?? I'm thinking a base in shades of turquoise-green patina, then you could apply a layer of gel medium, sprinkle all over liberally with rusting powder, tip off the excess. Once the gel is dry, you are then ready to rust the powder by keeping the powder damp for at least one and probably more like 2-3 hours, and of course, the rusty effect will develop. If you add a bit of acid (vinegar) to your water it will speed up the effect, or you could just put the canvas outside and let the natural elements do the work for you over a period of days or even weeks! Another rusty mixed media guru is Laura Bomber. If you check out this blog post she shares how she created all these frames using different painterly techniques. Brenda Brown created another gorgeous piece here with paints, and there are wonderful photos on her blog explaining how she created this. Ruth Mescall is another rust addicted crafter. Check out this post for more ideas. And how cool is this from Sally Mankus!! An acrylic skin with embedded rusty stuff! See here for details! OK, so I could go on and on sharing mixed media rusty things, so let's move on. What about rusted objects? What can you find in a local dump, on the side of the road or have you got a stash of hidden objects in the corner of your garden with some rusted treasures? Not sure you will have any of these to hand, but they are nice to look at! A typesetter... Corrugated iron always rusts to perfection! We actually have one of these rusting here on the farm...a newer version though, so not quite as 'pretty' as this! Old train... A sewing machine! (*shocked face*) or maybe you have loads of these lying about?? Finally some art, the layers of peeling and cracked paint always has massive appeal to me, I could fill any room with this type of creation, I love the colours and this style of abstract art. How hard can it be to do something like this ..worth a go I reckon! So as I said at the outset, no shortage of ideas for this topic! I think you're going to enjoy yourselves! I know our bloggers have! Wait to you see what they have been up to ober the coming 2 weeks!.... Have fun! ~ Leandra Don't forget to follow Darcy and Leandra's Pinterest boards if this topic pushes your buttons, you will see plenty more examples to whet your appetite there! I am really looking forward to seeing what you create over the next 2 weeks! We hope that you learn something interesting from our blog. Our bloggers deeply appreciate your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired! Why not join our challenge by blogging your interpretation of the current topic and link it here? The current topic link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, 12th November 2017, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00. All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. An InLinkz Link-up Challenge Guidelines The challenge is a for you to show how you are inspired by the current blog topic. We encourage you to play with us and explore your personal creative style. Please mention which PA blog post inspired you and and why (link directly to that post). Please don't link to the home page of your blog because then no-one can track back to easily find the original post. We prefer your challenge blog post is created exclusive to our challenge, but if our topic fits perfectly with another challenge, then you may link to both if appropriate. You are most welcome to use stamps/ products/ substrates you have to hand from a variety of companies, we do not expect you to exclusively use PA products - it's lovely when you do though! You can enter as many times as you like. We don't want to restrict your creativity! NB. Link closes at 17:00 Sunday 12th November, 2017 (London Time) Prize: The winner will receive a £50 credit voucher to be redeemed on the PaperArtsy Website. The credit voucher includes VAT and postage. We request that one of your purchases is an A5 rubber stamp. You can add any other items to your basket, but the final total should not exceed £50. It's your responsibility to claim your prize coupon from Darcy. email: [email protected] NEW Challenge/ winner: Each fortnight on Sunday, the winner will be announced at 19:00 (London time). In the same post, the link for the next fortnight will be posted. Good Luck! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!
This post is part of a series of tutorials on how to create your own unique crochet pixie pocket belt – to read more about this series visit the Intro page. Maybe it’s just because I worked o…
It's finally here; Intro to Bead Embroidery Components tutorial. It's been awhile in coming, and kept growing in size when I added more and more topics and projects.
View Afroza A. profile on Upwork, the world’s work marketplace. Afroza has completed 14 jobs on Upwork. Check out the complete profile and discover more professionals with the skills you need.
