This beautiful pendant is made from enamels which are finely ground particles of glass. The particles are wet packed carefully into cells I meticulously form by bending fine silver cloisonné wires with my fingers and small tools. The fine silver wire comes in varying heights and widths. The wire I most commonly use are .005"x.040". The tiny wires actually make the design you see fired in the enamels. The wires are fired onto a fine silver base. Once the wires are fired in place, I carefully add color to the cells in different depths and hues. By the time a piece is finished it may have been fired more than 15 times. Depending on the pendant, I will use up to 18 colors. The hummingbirds have about 15 colors and over 35 wires.
This beautiful pendant is made from enamels which are finely ground particles of glass. The particles are wet packed carefully into cells I meticulously form by bending fine silver cloisonné wires with my fingers and small tools. The fine silver wire comes in varying heights and widths. The wire I most commonly use are .005"x.040". The tiny wires actually make the design you see fired in the enamels. The wires are fired onto a fine silver base. Once the wires are fired in place, I carefully add color to the cells in different depths and hues. By the time a piece is finished it may have been fired more than 15 times. Depending on the pendant, I will use up to 18 colors. The hummingbirds have about 15 colors and over 35 wires.
Here is an example of a piece i just completed. Looking closely you can see some of the more advanced techniques I have learned; opacity, blending of different color combinations.
Here is an example of a piece i just completed. Looking closely you can see some of the more advanced techniques I have learned; opacity, blending of different color combinations.
Here are the basic steps needed to complete a project.
First, select a design. It is best to start with a simple design, then graduate to more complex designs as you master these skills. Designs can be hand-drawn or computer generated.
Once your design is settled, meticulosly mold the wires to the base design. This is a critical phase of the project and requires exquisite attention to detail.
The formed wires get attached to a base with a surrounding bezel. The bezel is soldered to the base plate.
Selecting the correct colors is the next most important phase. To get proper color matching, you will need to have first fired test strips. Here is a small sample of mine. Let your imagination run wild!
Prepare your chosen enamel colors and meticulously laydown layers, firing each time in your kiln.
As you can see in the image above and below, you can make multiple pieces using different color choices until you get the color combinations you desire. if you look at the hummingbirds wings, you see a good example of blending different colors. After firing and polishing, the result is spectacular.
