Confessions of a Torch Enameling Junkie: Experimenting and Exploring New Techniques
More than a year after I first tried it, torch enameling is still holding the top spot of my favorite jewelry-making techniques. But it's a fickle love affair; I can't seem to get consistent results, so for now I'm just going with the flow and enjoying the happy accidents--of which there are many!
Just this week I've experimented with overburning, layering transparent enamels on opaques and vice versa, metal stamping into hot enamel, applying copper designs on top of enamel, enameling in selective spots on a surface, and intentional quench crackling. (All of these samples are enameled on copper using a MAPP gas torch with a nearly full moon. Your moon phase will likely produce different results!)
>>>>I have the same issue of being unable to get consistent results with my torch enameling, although I'm not using an MAPP gas torch, I use a Jumbo Max Flame. (Itsy bitsy studio has me nervous about using a MAPP.)
Overburning or Overfiring Enamels
For overburning or overfiring enamel, I simply torch-fired my samples as usual, but once the enamels reached the glassy state, I kept going a couple of minutes or even more and then allowed the piece to cool. Most often the results were very interesting spotty designs but, unfortunately, the colors are too dark for them to be very distinctive or attractive--in other words, kind of a muddy mess. The egg yellow turned out pretty well, though, and mixing a sprinkle of robin's egg blue onto an overfired white surface created an interesting speckled pattern as well.
>>>>O.o I never would have considered intentionally overburning. I just though I was screwing up XD. It does make me wonder though, could you do overfiring and remove some of it selectively? Create a space type picture? Or would it be too muddy?
Applying Copper Patterns Over Enamel
This is my favorite. After enameling using rich, deep colors (transparent Harold purple and opaque cobalt blue, in this case), I simply removed the torch for a moment and placed a pre-cut piece of patterned copper on the still-molten enameled surface and immediately applied the flame again, just long enough to see the copper sink just a bit, securing it to the enamel.
This is kind of tricky; I recommend patting your head and rubbing your tummy at the same time before you try it! Seriously, it is tricky and you need to have the patterned copper positioned on the edge of something so you can easily put down the sifter and pick up the copper with tweezers or pliers and place it on the enamel, because you'll be holding the torch in your other hand. I don't recommend turning off the torch and taking time to place the copper and then going back to the piece with the flame later; the cooling that will happen during that time can cause the enamel to crack off when you reapply the flame.
After the enamel has cooled, you can give the copper a scrub with steel wool to clean off some of the firescale and bring back the bright copper on the high spots, or you can pickle it. It doesn't hurt the enamel.
>>>>This is something I've thought about for a while, but since I couldn't entirely get my enamel to cooperate, I didn't want to try layering until I managed it XD. I love layering techniques and patterns though, and it makes me think of some of the old antique pieces I love pinning and creating reproductions or riffs on those.
Selective Enameling
My next experiments, selective enameling and intentional quench crackling, were definitely more miss than hit, but a few of the pieces did turn out interesting. For selective enameling, I used a binder like hairspray (or Klyr-Fire) to put enamel just where I wanted it on a piece of copper. In some cases I sprayed on the liquid, and in some cases I dotted it on using a chopstick; then I sifted enamel on the liquid and tapped off the excess. The enamel powders adhere to the liquid but not the dry metal. I allowed the binder to dry and then applied the flame, resulting in spots of enamel on the metal.
>>>>Hair spray??? How did I never run across this? I knew you had to get klyr-fire, but held off due to pricing atm. But if I can use hairspray... Ohhh... I think Im a very happy woman. Please someone tell me I'm not the only one that didn't know about this?
This was more successful in some cases after pickling the enameled pieces to bring the bright coppery finish back to the metal, though this piece hasn't been pickled. I love the colors on it, both the enamel and the heat patina, but I have no explanation for the line down the middle!
I can't stress enough how important I believe it is to experiment with enameling or any jewelry-making technique you're interested in, after you've learned the basic methods. Next I have liquid enamels, sgraffito, and decals to play with. Once you're comfortable with the torch and the supplies, you can be free to try new ideas--which is how all kinds of interesting designs appear! That's how I made the discovery that you can in fact enamel on brass, though I later learned that many people say that you can't. You just have to find brass that has less than 5% zinc content, which can involve some trial and error. (Barbara Lewis has a selection of brass that can be enameled at PaintingWithFireStudio.com.) Transparent enamels are especially gorgeous on brass.
If you too are in the experimental stage of torch enameling or if you're interested in learning this fun technique, we have a great enameling kit offer for you. Pauline Warg, a master at enameled jewelry making, has chosen a gorgeous color palette of enamels just for you, and we've bundled that sampler along with her scrolling tool, a sifter, a trivet, some copper blanks, silver foil, and three popular torch-enameling resources--Barbara Lewis's Torch-Fired Enamel Jewelry book (the book that started it all for me!), her Creative Torch-Fired Enamel Techniques DVD, and Pauline's Basic Jewelry Enameling: Torch Fired TechniquesDVD--all at an incredible savings. Just add your own torch and you'll be making gorgeous colorful enameled jewelry in minutes! See below for details on our exclusive enameling kit.
P.S. There was too much to include here, but you can read about intentional quench crackling, mixing opaque and transparent enamels, and metal stamping in enamel on the blog.
>>>There is so much in just this one post that I want to try and play with... So many ideas and things to try. Hopefully I'll get a nice day at some point and be able to post up some enamel experiments. :D Do you have any experience with enamel? Any tips or tricks to try? Let me know in the comments below!
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