Esme Cooper

Region 6 met up on Saturday 8th Feb 2020 at the Kingswood Studios in Bristol for a one day class on Riso screen printing onto enamel led by Sally. There were 7 in the group; the number was slightly reduced due to a couple of members being ill.

I am new to enamelling and have only recently joined the Guild of Enamellers and was made very welcome by everyone!

Sally started by explaining the Health and Safety aspects of the workshop space, which was really well equipped for enamelling and jewellery making.

The process of making the Riso screens is done by attaching a laser copy to the Riso mesh and feeding them into a Thermofax machine. As the film/paper pass through the machine the heat from the light bulbs create a reaction between the carbon on the paper and the plastic coating on the Riso mesh. Once removed from the machine the film is peeled from the paper leaving the image on the film as an ‘open’ area. The ‘open’ area of the Riso screen is where the enamel powders will pass through onto the pre-enamelled pieces.