Ilona Furrokh

 

Jill joined our Cumbria group earlier in the year to divulge some tips into the alchemy of High Firing! A few of the key points were: -

 

1. Old lighter opaque enamels tend to work best, especially the whites which have arsenic in. Naturally this is now being removed or reduced from most modern formulas.
2. Levels of lead in enamels are key to their flow with greater movement coming from higher proportions.
3. Building firescale can enhance the colour changes as the oxides react with the enamels, and
4. Thinner shim can give different effects to thicker copper pieces.

 

Where enamel is applied directly to copper you get the best reactions with thinner areas taking up the oxides more, but the danger is that these areas may burn out. The enamel reaction along edges of sgraffito designs are often more interesting because of this, even at lower temperatures (800°C), as the enamel is thinner. Jill counter enamels her pieces, then cleans and applies enamels to the front.

 

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