Claire Collen

 

Prior to the workshop we were asked to bring along a small piece of silver or copper, fluxed and counter-enamelled (if copper, first fluxed then covered in silver foil).

Dorothy began the day by discussing the details of the fantastic collection of cloisonné pieces which she had brought with her. The beauty and delicacy of the cloisonné work was quite inspirational. She then went through the various considerations needed when starting cloisonné work:

 

Working with copper - if using silver wire, Dorothy advised covering the copper with silver foil in order to avoid the eutectic effect of copper and silver interacting together. Although copper wire can be used directly on copper, Dorothy warned it can be messy as copper oxide will be produced which will need to be removed by pickling after every firing.

 

Log in to read more....