Enamel Jewelry Making

I LOvE COLOr! In jewelry making, enamel is one of the most versatile sources of pure, luscious color—pow- dered  glass you can apply with great precision onto silver, gold, copper, and other jewelry metals. With enamels, you can paint with a broad brush or add minute and elaborate detail topendants, bracelets, earrings, and more. 

You can work in rich, saturated tones or in the subtlest of pastels. You can create a world of sharp contrast in black and white or one entirely of shades of gray. You can even mimic the colors of the finest gemstones, but you can also produce hues and patterns you’d never find among the trays of stones at any gem show.

Enameling - Add a little color to your metal !

I have always loved the gleaming colors of transparent glass. My mom had a display window where she organized her collection of antique cobalt blue glass and lead crystal so the sun could shine through it. I loved  watching the mini rainbows move across the living room ceiling and walls as the sunlight was split into prismatic colors by cut glass. It’s only natural that the gleam of glass on metal appeals to me—especially in the form of transparent enamels.

The world of enamels requires a different mindset than metal forming and fabrication. Because of my graphic design training, it was a relatively easy transition to start painting color on metal in the form of powdered glass. The most important thing to do when enameling is to keep everything clean. And by clean, I mean really, really clean. One small particle of dust or a grain of a different color of enamel can ruin hours of work.

Contamination is always a hazard, so go slowly and be careful as you work—and remember, it is extremely important to label everything. Because fired glass looks different from powdered glass, make sure you write the color number on both the storage jar and its lid. Don’t open more than one jar at a time. Stick to one brand if you can, and keep those enamels dry. “When in doubt, throw it out” is a motto used in the kitchen that works equally in the enameling studio.

Despite these constraints, it’s easy to get started enameling, and with a small investment in tools and supplies, you can create a gleaming “stone” of colorful glass on metal to set into your next bezel. And, metal clay artists: good news! There are cool new enamel products and tools for you, too!