I've never enameled before. I've done a little research on the web and there are several very new items about enameling on and/or in PMC nad it is whetting my appetite.

Anyone tried? have any thoughts, recommendations on how to start? good resources? results? pitfalls to avoid?

I've read that the best colors are blue and green working with PMC & that yellows, pinks and red tend to go brown - but I've seen some that look great in pics - was that lead vs lead-free?

Pam East on PinZart has been working with PMC and enameling for awhile. I've gotten some great help from her and there's a lot of info on that web site. Billie
http://www.pinzart.com/

Thanks, that is great info! Have you tried enameling on PMC yourself?

Enameling on fired and tumbled PMC is no different from enameling on regular fine silver sheet. You should test any color enamel that you are going to use ... some look better over silver and others look better over clear flux or gold. Reds, pinks, and other warm colors tend to work best over gold or over clear flux on silver because often the silver salts will interact with the enamel and will produce an unattractive burnt orange or brown color to. Aside from that, the statement that blues and greens work best on PMC probably refers to Mary Ellin D'Agostino's technique of embedding and kneeding enamel into PMC before it's fired. There is a substantial learning curve when it comes to enameling, so personally I would start on copper first until you get the hang of wet-packing or sifting and what fused enamel looks like (so hopefully you won't overfire enamel on your silver). Linda Darty wrote a FANTASTIC book on enameling called "The Art of Enameling," I HIGHLY reccommend it. I have been enameling for several years and teaching enameling for about a year and I reference this book nearly every week. IMHO it's worth it's weight in gold. I was fortunate enough to take a workshop with Linda Darty 2 years ago, it was wonderful ... if she's ever teaching near you sign up for her class immediately! Good luck!

Mollie

P.S. Lead-bearing enamels tend to be more vibrant than lead-free.

I ditto everything MollieM said here. The book is fantastic and you'll need to practice a bit. Also, enameling is for detail oriented, neat people because it's all in the details.

I have done enameling and had many successes and some failures. But these days I'm very excited about the new resins with Metal Clay simply because they're less fragile (enamel can fracture when a piece is dropped, and I've done that many times) and because you can get vibrant colors and are difficult to achieve with enamels due to the chemical interactions with the silver.

That said, I think you should try it and see what YOU think!

QUOTE: Originally posted by MollieM Enameling on fired and tumbled PMC is no different from enameling on regular fine silver sheet. You should test any color enamel that you are going to use ... some look better over silver and others look better over clear flux or gold. Reds, pinks, and other warm colors tend to work best over gold or over clear flux on silver because often the silver salts will interact with the enamel and will produce an unattractive burnt orange or brown color to. Aside from that, the statement that blues and greens work best on PMC probably refers to Mary Ellin D'Agostino's technique of embedding and kneeding enamel into PMC before it's fired. There is a substantial learning curve when it comes to enameling, so personally I would start on copper first until you get the hang of wet-packing or sifting and what fused enamel looks like (so hopefully you won't overfire enamel on your silver). Linda Darty wrote a FANTASTIC book on enameling called "The Art of Enameling," I HIGHLY reccommend it. I have been enameling for several years and teaching enameling for about a year and I reference this book nearly every week. IMHO it's worth it's weight in gold. I was fortunate enough to take a workshop with Linda Darty 2 years ago, it was wonderful ... if she's ever teaching near you sign up for her class immediately! Good luck! Mollie

thank you both so much!

I love to read, so that book will be mine soon!

ok, I am not what you might call neat or detail oriented but my biz partner is, so SHE will probably love enameling!

I'll have to look into the resin, hadn't thought of that yet, thanks!

Hey there Deb--should you be interested in traditional enameling from a REAL Pro, look up the name Karen Cohen. A simply Fabulous Enamelist , instructor, author, and nice person too. She's a VERY detailed instructor which allows you to get the most out of one her classes.
She works on all metals including PMC.
Check her out--Seriously.
I took a couple of private classes from her and then had her come teach an into cloisonne enameling class in my area and the girls LOVED her!!!
Am Planning to have her back here as a guest probably early next year (Central PA area).
Kathy
www.isabellesbeadshoppe.com
www.KISTTechniques.com
Kathy

I've been working with PMC3 and would like to enamel some pieces. Should I use a higher temperature clay like PMC+?

BTW, I love both Darty and Cohen's books!

You can enamel on any formula of PMC because the end result will always be fine silver. Just make sure you tumble it well to help reduce the porosity of the PMC.

Another comment:
Karen Cohen is adement about making sure your polished piece of silver is cleaned thoroughly with a glass brush under running water. The water should actually bead up and run off if it is cleaned correctly. I might add that if you have a filtered water system, do it under it. Impurities tend to get into the enamels in a blink-of-an-eye and really does effect things. I have also found that the flux can effect the colors too. If your piece is NOT cleaned thoroughly and you apply the flux on it there is a discoloration right off the bat. I have seen this in my classes. This also happened when I was helping Karen teach one of my classes. If effected the colors.
Again, like Mollie said, test your colors first. I would add here--test them also with a little flux on the bottom of the color that you are testing.

Kathy
www.isabellesbeadshoppe.com
www.kisttechniques.com
www.etsy.com Look up patinaswings for my work

Hey there. I recently posted this on the Aura22 blog.

I've just finished a couple of pieces of enameling on Aura22 on PMC. They are free-form and came out very nice. I shold be posting 1 picture here and the pieces on patinaswings.etsy.com withing the next few days. Keep checking back. Oh, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Kathy
patinaswings.etsy.com
www.isabellesbeadshoppe.com

Thank you all so much for your advice and info!

I broke my foot and subsequently gave myself tendonitis in shoulder recently so it will be fall before I jump into something new but will let you know how it goes in future.

Hey--
Today is June 29th and I am in the showcase--Patinaswings!!! It's my first one.
Check it out!!! SOME OF MY Enameled Pieces!!!

I am trying to get cool stuff out there. More technique based.
Any comments are WELL received.

Kathy St martin
patinaswings.etsy.com
busylittlebeads.etsy.com
www.isabellesbeadshoppe.com

I really liked Darty's book as well. I've never enameled, but she also shows some nice detailed silver construction techniques that I found as useful as any beginner jewelry books. Check your library for a copy. I was lucky enough to be able to get this book at mine. Its just a matter of time before I purchase a copy for my personal library.

--
Jim