Daphne Haynes

At the start of our tutorial, our group of would-be picture makers gathered round a table while Harry described the stages that go into creating his very individual pictures.

First we saw the blanks, which he makes himself, and domes slightly. He regards a domed shape as the best to avoid any warping of the metal. He also makes a slight burr around the edges - using a file - as this helps to prevent the flux coating from pulling away.

Next, after cleaning, he sprays the blank with a gum and water mixture and sieves on the flux to form an even coat. Harry prefers to use silver flux. The flux is then fired and, if it is slightly greenish, he adds a second coat. The edges of the piece are, of course, cleaned after each firing. Counter enamelling proceeds in the usual way - at least two coats are advisable as there will be two or three coats on the front of the piece as well as flux.

Harry makes a rough outline drawing of his subject and indicates the numbers of the colours he intends to use - this then becomes a future reference. He normally works freehand as he proceeds to put down colour, but I found it helpful to trace down a broad outline of my subject - I use tracing-down paper which is designed for use in embroidery and which can be bought from haberdashery departments.

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