Dorothy Budd 

Keith commenced his master class, by showing us some slides of his workshop, emphasising, that at least the area where you work, should be kept clean and uncluttered.

 

Preparation for the base coat.

He advises painting on silver, or gold, 0.5mm thick, as copper 0.3mm, produces so many dirty oxides. Clean the silver plate in nitric acid, until the plate becomes pale grey in colour. Then brush with a wire brush, under running water. Leave, either covered with distilled water, or under a lid, so that it does not become contaminated, while you prepare the base enamels.

 

For the base, use a hard white enamel - Blythe 263T6 is their new number for it, or 3025 their old one. This fires at about 800°C (so, as the painting enamels fire at about 700°C, they will not sink into the white and blur the edges.

Powdered base enamel must be ground with mortar and pestle for about 15 minutes; then washed until the water runs clear. Swill the enamel around in the mortar and tip it into a dish. A last rinse with distilled water helps some colours. Never keep the enamel till the next day. Keep the enamel covered with distilled water or a lid when not actually using - if only for 5 minutes - while you fire.

 

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