Latest enamel jewelry designs

I feel like it's been a million years since I've been to my enameling class at the 92nd Street Y. The school is closed this week and next for the holidays, plus I missed class last week due to illness. Still, I've made many interesting pieces this semester. Here are my most recent creations:

The red rose pendant turned out to be quite the project. Initially, it seemed as if it would be a simple design, but I had so many problems with the cloisonne. The kiln was firing really hot so the wire pieces kept moving during the heating process -- and then one of the wire roses melted a bit. Then the white and black enamel kept mixing so I had specks of black throughout the white portion of the design. But eventually, after applying many coats of enamel and firing each cloisonne rose separately, I completed my pendant. It's not my best work as the largest rose looks a bit demented, but it's pretty. Someone even wrote to me on Etsy to compliment the design, so that was promising!

The abstract piece was actually quite interesting to make. I usually use 24 gauge sheet copper for my metal base, but in this case, I used a piece of 20 gauge fine silver sheet metal. Not only was the piece thicker, but the enamel colors show up differently on silver than they do on copper. So I experimented with blues, purple and white and found that the colors almost glow against the silver background. I especially like how the turquoise blue looks -- very shiny and sparkly.

Since I've made so many pendants, my teacher has suggested that I move on and make a pair of earrings. This way, I can practice making multiples of a similar design. I know how challenging this can be when I'm working with wire, so working with enamel multiples will be a learning experience for sure. I do have some ideas for designs, though, and am looking forward to trying them out.

Meantime, I definitely want to again work with silver because I really like the look of that metal with the glass.

To purchase my jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs. To purchase my children's jewelry, head to MayaGirl Creations. To purchase my novel, check out REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.

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