Jan's Jems

12/04/2023

Enamel artists sometimes use very thin metal pieces known as foil or leaf in their work. It can be a bottom layer like in Marianne Hunter’s" Kabuki Kachina, Jubilant!" necklace below. Or it might be a more predominant feature in a piece like the repetitive foil shapes Harlan W. Butt used in "Glacier Vessel #5" shown below.

12/02/2023

Although many enameled pieces are jewelry or vessels, some are not. Here is an example of some household décor objects, a light switch plate and a clock. Both were enameled on copper.

12/01/2023

The art of , applying to metal, comprises much more than just jewelry pieces. The bowl above demonstrates the silver lustre on copper technique. It was borrowed from the pottery world of and . Various mixtures containing silver nitrate or silver carbonate are painted on the piece before it is raku fired. Enameling generally creates wondrous pieces and this bowl is no exception.

11/29/2023

is the application of to metal. There are many different techniques used in creating . One is to use pieces on the artwork. Millefiori means "a thousand flowers" in Italian as each little piece of it looks like a flower. As seen in the photo above, there are many different ways to apply millefiori to . The longer they are fired in the , the more they will melt and spread out.

11/25/2023

Enameling is the application of to metal. One of my favorite techniques in is called or . It can create beautiful abstract swirls on .

When you prepare to a piece, you first sift powdered glass onto your metal, typically copper or silver. When you want to scroll or swirl, you add glass lumps and threads on top of the before putting the whole thing in the . The kiln must be very hot for this to work, at least 1500° and even higher may be better. After the glass has all melted on the piece of metal, you quickly open the kiln door and use a long tool with a bent point on the end to move around the molten enamel on the piece. In the pieces in the photo, the left one was scrolled or swirled multiple times while the right piece had one long scroll through it.

10/21/2023

Designer Enameller Ruth Ball is a member of the British Society of Enamellers and exhibits regularly at Studio Fusion in London. Her book Enamelling, published in 2006, contains many examples of fine enameling work.

10/20/2023

Enameling is typically done on small canvases like jewelry or hollowware. But Debbie Sheezel, an award-winning Australian enamellist famous for one-offs, pulled the biggest enamel one-off when she created a mural for the Brisbane International Airport entrance to the arrivals hall. It is 54 feet long and nine feet tall and it took two years to create.

10/19/2023

Did you know that Louis Comfort Tiffany of stained glass fame was also an accomplished jewelry maker/designer and enamellist? His father, Charles Tiffany, started the well-known firm of Tiffany & Co. and beginning in 1907, five years after joining the firm, Louis Comfort Tiffany produced some of his finest work. He combined gemstones, enameling, and metalwork in jewelry pieces that were highly original. Many were shown in the big Expositions of the early twentieth century.

10/08/2023

Welcome to my business page where you can learn about and buy enameled art, primarily jewelry. Enameling is the ancient art of fusing glass to metal to create brilliantly-colored distinctive pieces. Glass powder is sifted onto the metal. If desired, glass threads and lumps can also be applied. The metal with the enamel on it is fired by insertion into a kiln set to 1350 to 1500 degrees for just a few minutes. What comes out of the kiln is often a surprise and almost always a delight. The pendant below has royal blue enamel topped with glass threads in four colors.

10/14/2021