Saturday Share...Enameling Pens Trial and Error

Good morning, Art Jewelry Readers!  Since I post every other Saturday, I was trying to think of a snappy post title, and came up with Saturday Share. Today, I thought I would share with you my recent trial and error experiments with enameling pens.

Those of you familiar with my work know that I have a huge love of torch-fired enameling!  I learned from the master, Ms. Barbara Lewis!  Her immersion method really works for me when it comes to instant gratification in creating art jewelry components.  Recently, after reading some posts on Barbara's Ning site, and seeing lots of lovely inspiration, I decided to try some new enameling techniques.  After a little research, I decided to purchase a set of Enamel Pens.  These are made by Thompson Enamels and can be purchased individually, or in a set of 9.

They were a bit tricky to get the hang of at first...you have to squeeze the tube and apply a bit of pressure to the tip to get the liquid flowing.  You also have to make sure you shake the pen quite a bit, as the colors tend to separate.  I found some colors are runnier than others as well.

These were the 1st ones I did...I loved the designs, but my background colors got muddy, and they over torched.

The biggest learning curve was torching the pieces after I applied the liquid enamel.  You can't go directly into the flame or your dried designs will pop right off!   This is where I decided to use the tripod and trivet method, so I could direct the flame underneath of the piece. I didn't really get the hang of that method and reverted back to directly in the flame!

I decided to try some pumpkins and ghouls...here are before firing...

 and after firing!

As you can see, the 2nd firing can be tricky, especially if your base coat is a hard color, like white, to keep from getting muddy!  I still think these little guys are pretty scary cute!  Sorry for the shiny photos!

Next, I thought I would try on some bisque-fired lentils I had from Bisque Bead Supply...they are such cute shapes and the enamel finishes with a lovely crackle.  I enameled them, then used the pens to draw faces...Jenny, here is my attempt at an enameled sugar-skull! (Check out yesterday's post on Dia de los Muertes).  Here is before 2nd firing....

and after...

Unfortunately, not a success!  I think the crackle glaze made the drawing run more than when fired on a smoother finish.  See what I mean by trial and error!

The owl was a total last minute experiment, and he actually turned out better than the others...here he is again!  I will definitely be making a few more of his kind!

While not a total success, I have to say that there are real possibilities with the pens, and I will be playing with them lots more. Then onto water colors!!

Thanks for stopping by and letting me share!  What new techniques are you playing with?

~Melissa Meman

Freeform Friday: Dia de los Muertos

Dia de los Muertos in Old Town San Diego. Ofrenda altar, paper mache calavera, ceramic Muertos figurine, papel picado. (Images - Jenny Davies-Reazor)

I have always been drawn to the Dia de Los Muertos. I have lived in a city where it is celebrated exuberantly; I have taught it as an art/culture project. At this time of year, I set up altars in my home to remember the loved ones that are no longer with me... I think acknowledging death is healthy - as this holiday strives to recognize death as a part of life - to be respected, honored, but not avoided or made taboo. In Mexico and many other locations near and far, families gather. Graves are weeded and decorated. Altars arranged with photos and favorite foods of the departed. And through stories, jokes, symbols and memories - the departed are with the living once again. 

Sugar skulls are an iconic item created, decorated, gifted, and offered at this time of year. Traditionally covered in colorful patterns of icing, colored foils, and even rhinestones - they can get extremely elaborate! Skulls, or calaveras such as these pictured here were my inspiration this week. 

Sugar skulls. 

The original sculpting...

The first batch I created was in porcelain... and I have impressed designs and patterns into the clay. Loops are also embedded for stringing, etc. I have not applied the clear glaze and fired them for the second glaze firing yet...

The second batch (shown below) is polymer. I wanted to build patterns up - which I can do with porcelain of course... but I wanted to stick things in! That inherent difference between the clays has piqued my renewed interest in polymer of late.

Floral and impressed designs

A plethora of pretties. Glass beads and gems embedded in polymer. 

I regret to say there is no completed reveal as of yet. Dia de los Muertos isn't until November 1st! I have a little time. But if you feel the need to shop for sugar skull inspired pretties - let me tempt your palette with these sweet offerings from fellow artist/jewelers/component makers: 

Shopping for sugar skulls: Gaea beads, Joan Miller porcelain, Green Girl Studios, Earthenwood Studio. 

I hope you have enjoyed this festive, colorful post. Were you familiar with the Day of the Dead? Enjoy the season as leaves turn and the air feels crisp... and I leave you with one more stunning beauty...

Ceramic "Catrina" Calavera. Image: Linda Landig

These dazzling detailed sculptures depict a female skeleton known as "Catrina" named after the famous zinc etching by Jose Posada in 1910.

"La Calavera Catrina" print by Jose Posada. 

A Parliment of Owls

Hello! Another newbie here! I'm Jo Tinley, and I am completely and utterly addicted to jewellery. Yes - jewellery, I'm a Brit - I'm joint AJE United Kingdom correspondant with Lesley! I make jewellery, make clasps and other components for other people to use in their jewellery, I teach jewellery design at our local college and privately in my studio, write magazine projects - in fact I do as much as I can to pass the addiction on, and it seems to be working quite well so far! The first post in a blog is always the hardest to write. It took me ages to decide what I could write about that would show you a bit more about me and what I love about doing my work, but then I realised that the best way to do it would be to show you some of my work in progress!

I spent some of yesterday making owls. My owl clasps are a relatively new design. I made the first ever one for my last Bead Soup Party partner, and I've only put a few limited edition one in my etsy shop so far, but the nights are drawing in and Halloween is close, so my thoughts are turning more to winter and night creatures than my usual poppies and daisies!

The first job is to draw round the template I've made onto sheet metal and then to carefully saw out the owls' bodies. I love sawing and piercing metal. The trick is to let the saw do the work for you, not to put pressure on it otherwise will get stuck and the blade will be more likely to break. Filing and sanding comes next,and then it's time to start texturing the metal and turn the strange looking shapes into sweet owls! The wings are made by shaping steel binding wire, holding it in place with tape and hammering it in.

The feathers on the wings and the owls' tummies are textured with various hammers, and I use decorative punches to form the eyes and the beak. The beak is actually a "V" stamp from my smallest alphabet set. Once the owls are decorated I curve them in my doming block, and then solder a length of wire with an eye loop at one end onto the back of each owl. The wire ends are then filed so that each clasp is comfortable to wear and the wire is bent round into a hook.

And after applying liver of sulphur and polishing, this is was my owls look like! There's a mix of copper and sterling silver. The next job is lining them up to take their photos so I can put them in my Daisychain Extra etsy shop tonight. It's great what you can make from a simple sheet of metal, isn't it?! I think my favourite part of making the owls is making their eyes - they come to life then!

So, that's a little bit about me - now it's your turn! What part of jewellery making do you like best? Is it a particular technique, or do you have a favourite material? Or is it just the wonderful variety out there and the beautiful ideas that inspire you? And to inspire you a little bit more, here's a wonderful collection of other owls for you!

'A Parliment of Owls' by daisychainextra

A wonderful collection of owl beads and jewelry components, all hand crafted by wonderful artists!

3 Owl Buttons. Ceramic ... buttonsbyrobin... $12.00	Large Fancy Owl Piece MartiC51 $11.95	Ceramic Mini Tile Penda... beadfreaky $5.00	Lampwork Glass Owl Bead... LynnetteJewelr... $11.50
Blush Owl Bead, Glass FrancescaDeCai... $15.00	New - Handmade etched B... PurpleLilyDesi... $5.50	Owl Button Clasp oxidiz... TheSilverWhale $9.50	Owl bead. Handmade lam... glassdaft $20.00
Little Brown Owl bead -... TreeWingsStudi... $8.00	Wide Eyed Lampwork Owl ... juliechristie $35.00	Handmade Ceramic Charms... Grubbi $3.00	Handmade Blue Bird Owl ... MarikoArt $4.99
Silver Owl Charm, PMC F... staciejewelry $18.00	Three Ceramic Charms/Be... BlueTerracotta $10.00	Green Owl Charm Pendant... Alyburd $5.00	Owl Charm - White and T... ClayTree $9.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

Free Tutorials

 

I wrote up a quickie free tutorial with lots of pics showing how to make a tassel using a lampworkified bullet casing like the one above. You can find it at Artisan Whimsy, the new community created specifically for the bead and jewelry people. 

It got me thinking that perhaps you would like to find other free tutorials...

*Over at Glass Addictions, I have a page dedicated to free tutorials I've written, including various jewelry projects, but also jewelry tags, video of me making a hollow bead, and altering an altoids tin.

*Lesley wrote up a bracelet tutorial that I used for one of the pieces I made for the last Bead Soup Blog party.

*Linda has an entire Pinterest board with enough pins of jewelry tutorials that could keep you busy for weeks!

*Objects and Elements Linda Larsen writes the best tutorials on her blog. 

*An amazing tutorial using Roman Glass Beads by Keirsten Giles that I've been meaning to try, but haven't gotten to it yet.

*Art Bead Scene occasionally has tutorials. I love this wrapped bangle tutorial

.

*Artisan Whimsy has an entire learning center dedicated to videos and tutorials. 

What are some of your favorite free tutorials not included here? 

Have a creative week!

-Jen Cameron

Glass Addictions