Enameling
Enameling is a traditional craft that dates back to Ancient Egypt and Rome. The bright and vibrant colors that can be created in enamel decorate such well-known art as the Fabergé eggs. Cloisonne is a type of enameling where thin wire is used to separate each of the colors used.
Enamel is a mixture of silica, potash and soda. By fusing these different components at high temperature and then pulverizing them, one obtains a colourless powder or "flux", which is closer to crystal than to glass.
One colours this powder by adding metallic oxides. The resulting mixture is applied to a metal base, or trivet. Gold, silver, bronze, copper or steel may be used as bases for an enameled piece.
The art of the enameller consists of fixing the powder enamel to its metal base with a series of short firings, at approximately 800°C .
Several techniques are used for the creation of art's objects or jewellery enamel: Painted enamel, Grisaille or Chequering, Champlevé , Cloisonné , Basse-taille and Plique a jour.
The sites listed here exemplify some of the best enamel work being done today and as an added bonus, all the website owners have included their favorite enameling tips .
|
