Yesterday was my first enameling class at the studio in Brooklyn. It's me and a bunch of 20something women. Even the teacher is younger than me. At 38, I feel so old!
So far, I really like this teacher (despite her being a baby compared to me!). She knows her stuff and is patient. Plus, her jewelry is AMAZING. I was looking at her Web site earlier and just thinking, "Damn, I have miles to go until I get that good." I'm looking forward to learning some new enameling techniques from her.
She also gave me some extremely useful information about getting my stuff sold in stores. Until now, I really haven't known how to do that, but she explained exactly what steps to take.
As for the class itself, well, we didn't do that much yesterday, which is to be expected. We practiced sifting enamel and using the kiln, all of which I know how to do pretty well at this point. Unfortunately, the equipment kind of sucks. In my last class, every person got his or her own mesh and trivet (you put the piece to be enameled on these before sticking them in the oven), and there were all different types of trivets available. We also had two large kilns. In this class, though, there were only three pieces of mesh so we all had to wait in line and share. There's only one kiln that doesn't fire hot enough so I kept having to refire my pieces. And the trivets suck. There were only medium sized triangular trivets available, which doesn't help when you want to fire a long, skinny piece. I needed a square trivet and she didn't have one, so my piece would not balance ... and the powdered enamel would fall off when it tipped. It was very frustrating and this problem happened to everyone who had a smaller piece. I'm going to order my own meshes and trivets, but for the amount we're paying, these things should really be provided.
Still, I like this teacher as she makes things very easy to understand and seems to be enthusiastic about her work. She showed me a new technique where you can make designs on the enamel simply by adding a sticky substance called clearfire and then sifting the powder over (like adding glitter to glue). I made an abstract piece, but it's funny looking and I'm a little embarrassed to show it. Maybe next time after I've made something better! I definitely prefer wet packing the enamel, which is like painting. It's much easier to get a clear design within the lines. She promised that we'd be doing cloisonne in the next class, so I'll be able to continue with where I was at in my last class and make some more cloisonne pendants. And then she has some other techniques to show us, as well.
Meanwhile, I'm trying to organize my jewelry. That's the problem with making so many pieces -- they're all over our home! But I'm all set to do some summer cleaning.
To purchase my jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs. To purchase my children's jewelry, head to MayaGirl Creations.
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