On March 26, the Canton of Tear-Sea's Shore hosted a Glassworking Symposium. Quite a few workshops were available: enameling, lampworking, wire-wrapping, stained glass, mosaic, and beading.
Talan and I took advantage of the enameling workshop. Mariana Francisco of the Barony of Tir-y-Don lectured on the history of enameling, and provided a fine illustrated handout. She also shared some of her library on enameling and medieval crafts. Lady Mariana prefers to work in Champleve enamel, where the design is etched either by hand or using a chemical solution onto the metal, and then filled with enamel (ground glass) and fired. The design is recessed. It was a most enjoyable and educational lesson.
Mistress Megara di Alessandra provided the hands-on section of the workshop. Her handout included an extensive annotated list of supplies and suppliers. After a thorough review of supplies and equipment, we proceeded to create a design for a medallion. Mistress Megara works in Cloisonne, in which metal strips are used to create raised channels on metal, and then filled with enamel and fired.
Talan created a triskelion design. Megara suggested he use a clear for the background; this allowed her to demonstrate what a clear enamel does on copper. After firing the clear, she placed the wire design on the copper, and then fired again. The wire sank somewhat into the initial coating. Talan applied the blue enamel within the cloisonne channels. As you can see, Talan's medallion turned out beautifully.
My medallion did not fare as well as Talan's. It was an example of "if it can go wrong, it will go wrong". This provided Mistress Megara the opportunity to demonstrate the more delicate side of enameling. The background coat burned on one side, but Megara showed how to reapply enamel for refiring. The spiral design first refused to lie down; then when it was fired, it sank too deeply into the base enamel, so that the cloisonne channels were lost. After filing around the wire, she applied the white enamel; however, the channels were still too uneven to take the enamel properly. As a result, the spiral is blotchy. Nevertheless, the afternoon was well-spent. Any errors in the description of what occurred during the workshop are mine alone. Our deepest thanks to Lady Mariana and to Mistress Megara for their time and effort. This was an intense workshop, and I know I speak for all when I say we learned from a master.
Talan and I did some more research after returning home. We want to pursue this craft further. We hope to purchase a kiln that will work with both enameling and PMC clay.
Vivat to autocrat Tegan de Moreton and all gentles who provided this wonderful A&S opportunity. It was a most fulfilling day.
