Saturday snippets - a Painted Enameling workshop

... in which our plucky heroine spends two days teaching a private workshop on using painting enamels...

This most recent time teaching Introduction to Painting Enamels, only one person signed up for the class, so she basically had a two day long private lesson, (even a full class only has four students, so there is always plenty of personal attention) and made excellent use of her opportunity:

She decided to work on two different painted enamel projects. Here you see her avian inspiration, her sketch, and a partially completed enamel

and because it is always better to work on more than one enamel at the same time, to better utilise the kiln while waiting for one piece to be either drying out or cooling down... she is also making this larger piece, a portrait of one of her cats.

Partway through the process, as the cat portrait is gradually taking shape. The painting enamels have their own aesthetic, more impressionistic than cloisonné. In some ways folks find it slightly more accessible than other styles of enamel, as most of us have had at least some experience with using a paintbrush, though it does handle rather differently then ordinary paint. But even a large piece like this is still pretty small, and requires a light and delicate handing of the brush.

By the end of the two day workshop, Zenobia finished these two enamels... the cat portrait, at just over 2" in diameter, will be framed as a small piece of wall art, and the bird enamel will probably be set as a pendant or brooch. I am mightily impressed with her designs, productivity, and how well she was able to translate her ideas into these beautiful pieces...

:::

While wearing my teacher hat, it helps to have a project to work on that demonstrates the processes being taught, so adding another charm to the "time is a dressmaker" jewel was exactly right. This charm pendant was begun months ago, and at this point all that still needs done is to fabricate a tiny thread spool (the final charm), drill the holes and attach the charms and the actual necklace to the carved bone measuring tape. If you look closely, the second bit on the right is a new tiny painted enamel, with the image of a dress form...