I've looked everywhere and I can't find one, so here is an Arts & Crafts Thread! Here we can share non-ssss crafts and projects! Basically anything that doesn't fit into the main (or sub) art threads.
I was trying to dig up some other pictures for another thread and randomly came across some old enamel paintings and jewellery pieces of mine... so hey, why not.
Copper + enamel paintThis is done in my earlier technique that dates from when I didn't actually know how to paint with enamels. I was really lucky to pick my exchange year at the UCE like I did, because just that year we happened to have a professor there who was a specialist! My previous teaching had been on the lines of "here's the pigments and there's the mixing oil, have fun" so that year I actually learned more about enamel painting than ever before or after.
Silver + cold enamelBtw cold enamel is just a fancy term for anything that dries to a glassy surface such as 3D paints and epoxy glue. :Þ These were made by first soldering the whole thing together and then spreading glittery 3D paint over the heart area.
What's that modeling dough called again that you have to bake to harden? Made of that anyway.I'm a very serious goldsmith.
Copper + enamel paintHere's another style of painting with enamels, this time with better technique.
How does enamel painting work anyway?First you spread a layer of enamel to the backside of the piece. This is usually some leftovers of previous works enamel, its only purpose is to stop the metal plate from warping while you enamel the other side because that takes many rounds in the kiln. The other side is then cleaned well of any impurities it suffered while in the kiln for the first time.
The background colour goes on first, melt to a nice, smooth layer. Wait for the whole thing to cool, touching out-of-kiln lukewarm glass can at worst make it shatter and that's both annoying and painful. The pigments are in powder form so you mix them yourself with mixing oil. Then the painting is done by layers upon layers that each get a firing in the kiln, the older the layer the deeper it sinks into the glass.
Every time you take the work out of the kiln something unplanned may have happened because the paint both spreads and floats a bit, depending on how long it's been in the kiln and what kind of background enamel you have, the differences can appear in a matter of seconds so sometimes it's all down to luck! It takes ages and lots of coffee breaks and it's the best thing in the world (I miss my kiln so much).
