Painting Enamels

There are a couple different styles of painting enamels. There are liquid enamels, watercolor enamels, and ceramic painting enamels.

The chief difference between the enamels we have been using and these enamels is the fineness of the powder. The paint enamels are ground much finer so that you can achieve a much finer line/shading.

To use:

• Spoon a little enamel powder onto a palette or dish.
• Mix in water (watercolor) or oil (ceramic) to achieve desired thickness and opacity.
• The more liquid added the thinner the color will be. For watercolor enamels, thinner colors are more translucent.
• Paint piece with agar.
• Using brushes, paint on the colors.
• Let the colors dry before firing. 
• When using the ceramic pigments, move your piece in and out of the kiln several times before placing in and firing fully. This exposure to heat dries out the oil.
• Paint one layer at a time.

Tips:

• Fire a background layer before using the paints.
• For watercolor enamels, a light background color is best.
• Work in layers. Build up levels and layers of colors. This adds richness to the piece.
• Face masks are a must- this powder is even finer than the others!
• This technique can be used on top of other techniques.
• You can fire a clear top layer over the paints at the end if desired.

Additives: Threads and Frit

 Glass threads, buttons, beads and frit: 

• Another way to get pattern is by using glass buttons and threads on top of your enamel. 
• Apply Klyr-Fire, then place the glass threads on top, and fire. 
• If you work with fused glass, you can also use some of the glass frit from that as well. 
• Buttons, threads, and frit have a higher flow temperature than the enamel, so they will be raised after firing. You can stone these down if you wish.
• Glass beads can also be fired in the same way. Seed beads in particular work well. 

Firing gemstones into enamel:

• Firing stones tends to change the color or crack the stones unless they are good quality, clean stoens that can withstand the temperature needed to fired enamels. Stones marked as cast-in-place are good stones to use. 
• The cracking and color change can give interesting results. Crushing cheaper stones or rough cut stones can get a great textured surface in the enamel.  
• Have a base layer fired. Klyr-Fire your piece and place or sprinkle stones over the surface. Fire. When the enamel gets to firing temp, the stones will sink slightly down into the surface which holds them in place once the piece cools. 
• In addition you can wet pack or sift extra enamel over the stones to further secure them. 
• Make sure to keep an eye on the thickness of the enamel- too thick can yield cracks and flaking.

Additives: Lusters and Foils

Foils

• We have silver foil that can be fired between layers of transparent enamel to create sparkle under the enamel. This is commonly used in cloisonné work. 
• Cut the foil with scissors, and apply with Klyr-Fire to enameled surface. 
• Either sift or pack enamel on top of foil, then fire.

Lusters

• The luster powders give an iridescent sheen to the enamel.
• Mix the powder with water to form a paint. 
• Apply Klyr-Fire, let it dry, then paint the luster on over a fired enamel surface. 
• Let dry and fire. 
• Seal the luster by firing a clear coat on top.

Project 2

Project 2: Line and Color
For this project, select one of the artists listed below (or one of your choosing). Investigate their work and their use of color. How is color used in relation to line? Is there line? How are different surfaces used? Using what you have observed, create designs for two pieces. The pieces can be related or separate. Use the artist as inspiration for subject matter or abstraction.

You must use at least two of the following techniques: wet pack patterning, diamond bur patterning, stencils, dragging, rubber stamps, lusters, foils, threads, frit, or painting enamels.

Create 10 color drawings of designs. Do 2 different color schemes for your top 3 designs. How does the color scheme change the final look of the design?

Drawings are due October 15.
Finished piece is due beginning of class November 19.


Artists: Klimt, Van Gogh, Fairey, Haring, Diebenkorn, O'Keeffe, Frankenthaler, Kandinsky, Lichtenstein, Miro, Malevich, Pollock, Bally, Westmark

Patterns: Dragging, and Stencils

Dragging: 

·         Using a spatula or thin hard tool, drag through wet pack enamel, creating a path. Dragging is commonly done over a fired base color, so that when you fire after dragging, you have the pattern over a color.

Stencils:

• You can purchase pre-made stencils, but it is also easy to make your own! For simple one-time use stencils, you can use manila or index cards. For longer use stencils, I recommend a thin plastic or metal. 
• Simply cut your design out of the stencil material. Make sure that the edges of the stencil are a good inch or so from your design. This helps to keep the enamel plate clean. 
• Place your stencil over your plate- have a base color fired already.
• Paint a layer of Klyr-Fire.
• Dry sift the color you want the design to be over your stencil. 
• Lift the stencil carefully off of the plate.
• Fire.

Rubber Stamps:

• You can also use rubber stamps in a similar way to stencils. Have a base coat of color fired already.
• Paint a layer of Klyr-Fire on the area of the rubber stamp you want to use.
• Press the stamp onto the piece, transferring the Klyr-Fire to the piece in the pattern of the stamp.
• Sift a color over the piece and gently blow or brush away excess. This should leave enamel only in the pattern of the stamp. 
• You can do additional clean-up with a clean brush. 
• Fire.

Patterns: Wet Packing and Burs

Wet pack pattern

• Using your brush, wet pack colors next to each other in a pattern.
• Make sure that the colors are right up against each other for the smoothest surface.
• Wick away excess water between packing each color.
• Laying out a pattern on paper first can be very useful. You can also use your scribe to scratch the layout onto the metal. Make sure to clean the metal after handling!

With the flexshaft

• For very crisp patterns, use the diamond coated burs to grind away enamel in the pattern that you want.
• Wet pack the enamel into the areas that you ground out.
• Fire.
• Stone smooth to remove any excess enamel and bring out the clean edges.
• This is best suited for linear patterns and dots.
• Make sure to always use only diamond coated burs on enamel, and the burs must be used wet! 
• You can also use diamond files to file grooves for linear elements.  

Surfaces: Under/Over Firing and Etching

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Underfired Surfaces:
Orange Peel
Sugar Coat

Overfired Surfaces:
Glossy with color changes dependent on enamel color.

     By varying your firing times you can get different surfaces such as sugar, orange peel, and the normal glossy. You can also intentionally overfire your piece for interesting results. 
     The enamels fire anywhere from 1450-1525 degrees. Some of the enamels fire at the low end of that range, others at the high end. The 1685 cobalt blue opaque is on the high end, 1515 baby blue opaque is in the middle, and 1995 black is on the low end. 
      If you layer a higher temp enamel like 1685 on top of a lower temp enamel, and leave the enamel in a bit longer than usual, the lower temp enamel color will start to bleed through the top layer creating a crackled or mottled effect. 
     A lot of the colors will turn black along the edges when over fired. White turns a beautiful green-blue. The Jungle green (1360) turns a very dark navy, other colors can get speckles. Refer to the firing chart for flow temperatures by color number.


Surfaces achieved through firing-

• Glossy: Fire fully. Stone in between firings for smoothest surface.
• Orange Peel: Pull piece from kiln before fully fired. You cannot fire or work with the surface again and still keep the orange peel texture. Best for solid or 2 colors. Dry sift for the best result.
• Sugar: Pull piece from kiln when the surface looks like sugar crystals. The enamel will have bonded with the metal underneath, but not smoothed out on the top. This is a very delicate surface to achieve as the enamel passes through this window of firing time swiftly. For smoother results, fire a coat to glossy first, then fire a sugar coat on top. You cannot work with the surface after sugar firing. Best for solid colors. This surface is unsuitable for areas of contact or heavy wear, as the powder can become loose and flake off over time.

Etching:

• You can make the surface of your enamel matte by applying Etch-All to it. Etch-All comes as a liquid and as a cream. 
• The liquid is excellent for etching the entire piece or removing enamel from a piece. 
• To remove enamel from a piece without hurting the metal, leave it in Etch-All for a couple days. The etch will eat the enamel and not affect the metal. 
• The Etch-All creme can be applied to specific areas to create a glossy/matte surface contrast. Apply with a fine brush or Q-Tip. 
• Leave the piece in the etch (liquid or cream) for about 15 minutes for a nice matte surface. 
• If using the cream, scrape excess back into the container. 
• Rinse, scrub with a toothbrush and dry. 

Some enamels are acid-sensitive. Test out any colors before committing your piece to the etch!!

 

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