Jewellery Classes and Artisan Workshop
Enamelling Classes - Christchurch
Jewellery enamels are in fact special glass grains, which can be fused to the surface of your metal to create amazingly colourful, glowing jewels.
Because the enamel is glass, the pieces are fragile and precious.
Enamels are perfect for earrings and pendants, and can also be bezel-set as you would a gemstone.
You can use opaque (very bright solid colours) or transparent enamels. Transparent colours may be fired on a layer of fine silver foil over copper to get a magical result without the cost of using large amounts of precious metals.
Explore simple stencil ideas with dry-application, or try sgraffito, cloisonne and more delicate
wet-packing techniques as you develop your skills and ideas.
Create simple stand-alone enamelled pieces - for example, enamelled drop earrings; or choose to make enamelled elements you can include in fabrication classes and set in rings, brooches and more.
Torch Fired Enamelling Weekend Workshop
Get starting with enamelling with two days of torch fired enamels!
Create simple and effective projects that can either be worn away or will make great gifts.
Choose from a selection of projects, ranging from simple enamelled discs on waxed cord for a simple sliding bracelet, simple round enamelled disc earrings, a larger pendant, or if you’re one of our existing more advanced students, create an enamelled piece to bezel set on a ring or brooch.
Beginners will enamel onto pre-made copper shapes, only those with some enamelling experience will be enamelling onto silver. We will be using both opaque and transparent enamels.
The copper shapes are perfect backgrounds for your enamelled pieces, and reduce the complexity (and cost) of the enamelling process. We use silver enamelling foil to create a silver background over your copper where needed.
Techniques we will cover will be dry sifting using enamel adhesive and stencils, using graphite pencil on white background with a clear overcoat, and using silver foil under transparent enamels over copper. Advanced enamel students will be able to use cloissonne wires and enamel onto fine silver pre-prepared shapes. If you are an advanced student please let us know so that you can prepare your pieces.
Basic copper shapes are supplied as well as all enamels and silver foil.
Additional items such as chains or earring findings are available at a very reasonable cost to allow students to choose what items they end up creating.
Next class: TBC
