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This chapter describes an extensive list of various Supplements and Add-Ons, including such weirdo material as cat hair. The information on this page provides either more information on ones in the book, or new materials that can be added to your enemaels. TOC
Button WafersThese are larger versions of the Floral Wafesr, both sold at e-namel.com and made by Tim Ellis. They look strange as they are a puddle of glass with a stem in the middle - you fire them with the flat side down about 1 min 10 sec at 1450°F and voilá - you get a flower. Here is what I did with one:
Dichroic Extract Powder by CBSThis product is mentioned in the book. It is a high quality coating that will give your enamels the look of dichroic glass. Here is a video on how to apply Dichroic Extract to glass. Of course this will have to be adjusted for working on enamel, but I don't think the change would be too difficult. For example:The video states that to brush on this powder, it's best for the glass to have a texture to it. She shows what to do for glass, but for enamel, try this adjustment: sugar coat using clear enamel. In fact, my guess is that Thompson luster powders can also be applied this way. But experimentation is needed - just something else to try! Dichroic Glass Frit Flakes
These are small pieces of Dichroic Glass that either come in clear or with a black backing. In general, I suggest the clear because if using the black backed pieces and they flip over, you will not see the color. Note that these are not the normal frit - these flakes are smaller. Embed them as with other small/flat Add-Ons as described in the book. As you can see, these are 96COE and manufactured by CBS. But they are available at many glass fusing suppliers. Here is a piece I made using these flaks.
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Jazz Enamel can be made in small pieces and fill a space much as glitter does. See the silver space aroudn the top circular piece. | Jazz Enamel can be made into strips as in this piece by Sydney Scherr with a detail of the Jazz Enamel. | |
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Instuctions Coming Soon!
There are quite a few metallic inks that work with enameling, like liquid gold or mica pens (Skura Gelly Roll Metallics - gold, copper and silver), but what about stamp pads so one can use rubber stamps? Lydia Morrison found this ink pad:
Note the sample chip in the upper left corner of the label that Lydia did. This is made by Tsukinek who also makes other metallic ink pads. But Lydia has not yet found another that fires and holds its color. If you try others, please contact me with your results.
The book does talk about normal black ink pads that can be used for the Sift & Tap (pg 84) to get a stamped image onto your enamel (see page 93).
This is a Thompson Enamel product, #2001, only comes in lump form and is medium fusing for copper, silver or gold enameling. Here are two suppliers - e-namels.com and Enamel Warehouse. These lumps can be fired over colors to produce a jewel like effect, especially like opals.
If fired to full fusing, a few together will dome up into a mound like a cabochon, and then when fired for a shorter time, will be sort of milky. Irmgard Carpenter (wife of Woody Carpenter who used to own Thompson Enamel) developed a process for these lumps that looks like an opal. See the photo at the right which was a pendant done by Tom Ellis, Technical Editor of my book. When purchased, you might get larger lumps than needed (see below on how to make them smaller) - if possible, order size 6/20 mesh of #2001 Opal jewel Effect lumps.
Here are the steps to get this interesting effect.
You will have to determine when this should be done on your piece, taking into consideration the other part of the design. For example, if the piece is a full Cloisonne design, you might want to do steps 4-end after you finish your cloisonne and have ground down the top. Also, this can be done with a copper base and silver wire, but care must be taken you do not get the Eutectic Effect. Have fun!
Sometime you buy enamel lumps and they are too big for how you want to use them. One way to make them smaller is to put them in a thick plastic bag and hit them with a hammer. But that frequently breaks the bag or you get dust instead of lumps. Here is a way that Lydia Morrison crushes them with a mortar and pestel. The main thing is to not hit too hard and to cover the mortar - Lydia uses cardboard from a cereal box - check out her video:
The book talks about the Sakura Gelly Roll Metallic pens that work with enamel, but not the white. These white pens come in 3 sizes and work great on enamel, matte or shinny. Check this out for a sample. These are oil based pens.
In my book, page 48, I have information about LIquid Metals. Gold is the typical one. It shows a sampler of it's use and how wonderful it looks completely overfired. But to get it solid and even is not an easy thing.
Teresa Kiplinger does a great job of getting Liquid Gold solid. She says: The liquid gold is applied very thinly and evenly; one smooth layer; don't go back over it when it's wet. I read on Ganoksin that this is the key to using liquid metals and I've found it to be true. I also torch fire, so I can observe progress and remove the heat as soon as it turns metallic. (This can be seen through safety glasses.) I think this might make it easier to avoid over-firing. The surface must also be absolutely completely spotless clean for liquid metallics. I love the look, but it's never precise... Sometimes there are dark spots within the gold, but I enjoy the imperfections, so it's not a bother to me. Teresa's piece at the right is called End of Days and uses her style of black washes painted on a white surface - Stunning!
The book, on page 50, has an LTT about making metal balls. I have done it the way described for decades. But Merry-Lee Rae has a video of Tips and Tricks in which she shows a different set up that I think is an improvement over just using a hard charcoal block in a metal pan. See this photo of her set up below, but see the free video for more information.On retrieving the balls - Most end up in the groove on the white block or still on the charcoal. She pours them into a soup bowl. Then a mighty blow and the charcoal dust flies out and all she has left are beautiful little granules. BTW - she has quite a few other terrific tips so this is worth watching for more than metal balls!
The book talks about making coils to get balls of a consistent size. But Merry-Lee uses this gadget designed by Kent Raible.
On page 40 of the book, Liana Pattihis has an LTT on her invention of Enamel Leaf. One could also call this enamel lace. Liana tells how to make this lacy looking fused enamel that can then be fused onto another piece, usually it as a supplement. I have been experimenting with it. Liana always uses it on either her wirework or chain pieces, but I fused it to a flat surface. My test firiing resulted in a fabulous granular texture that so far I have not been able to duplicate! But I still like my results. Here are some photos.
Test piece - Enamel Leaf
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Enamel Leaf |
Test firing |
Enamelist Kay Yee uses a water based pen to efffect a "ghost image" of white on enameled Blackboard steel. She can then draw on top of that with an oil or water based pen to get a design that is quite unusual. Kay can be found on FaceBook and Instagram: yee.kay
Here are two ways Kay makes a ghost image...
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1. The background is a graphite & a mica wash and fired at 1400°F. Note: only the mica that touches the blackboard will stick so you'll need to rub off any mica that is not adhered. Don't overfire. Some graphite might also rub off and that's ok. 2. Using a water base paint marker (FlyMax Paint Marker), the word 'test' was written. It was dried and underfired at 1400°F. The underfiring allows some of the white to adhere to the black background, but not all of it... |
3. After firing the sample was washed with a 3M scrub pad & Dawn soapy water to remove what white pigment didn't fuse. The white "ghost" of the pigment can be somewhat uneven since this is fired on a layer of graphite and mica underneath. But that's fine for a ghost! |
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4. Details were added on this layer with an oil based gel pen (Sakura Gelly Roll white), because the nib size was smaller than the water based marker I have. One could also use water base pens. What I am doing is adding another layer of detail with pigment.This is then fired at 1425 °F
to completion. |
Final test image after firing. |
Here is the second way that Kay does "ghosting". In this case she is making a wash of the white...
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1. This is a test of the night sky using the ghost technique. But I did this one somewhat differently - I laid down a layer of water and then used the water based gel pen to add the white and mixed it with the water to get the blend, using brushes and cotton swabs. Then it was dried and underfired at 1400F. | 2. After the first firing, as before, I wash off any pigment that doesn’t stick. Then I fired at 1425°F to completion. |
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Final image after firing. |
More To Do:
Please note: if you try either of these, please contact me to let me know how your test worked - either yes or no - and I can post your results.
For many years, millefiori came in one basic size (3-4mm). How SES has multiples sizes (1-2mm and 2-3mm) plus both opaque and transparent of each size. I find the opaque ones more to my liking, but if you use the transparent ones effectively, please send me a photo. Here is my sampler of using 3 sizes in graduated lines...
All millefiori are made of hard glass and come as slices from a "cane" with squared off edges - it is always best to slump them first before firing into your piece so that the tops are rounded. This takes about 8-10 minutes at 1450°F, but check each minute as you only want to round the tops. This is discussed in the book on page 54. Always include them in a firing before softer supplements like flower wafers, metal balls and almost anyting else!