The Art of Copper Enameling

Enameling is one of the oldest arts in the history of man. In European countries, the art of enameling has been recognized much longer than it has here in America. If you mention the word enamel to most Americans, they might think of enamel paint or nail polish or the covering on our teeth.

To the artist or craftsman, enameling means just one thing - the process of applying a thin coat of powdered glass to a metal, then heating both to a high temperature so the glass melts and fuses to the metal" - a temperature of 1500 to 1750 degrees.

Enameling has been known since the first century B.C. Pieces of Greek sculpture of that period show areas of inlaid gold covered with a form of glaze, which was enamel." (Kenneth Bates in "Enameling Principles and Practices")

The Celts of the British Isles, 700 or 800 years later, used enamel to decorate their shields and swords. Other countries or regions which developed copper enameling techniques include Turkey, Germany, France and Russia.

Until recently, there was not much interest in enameling as an art in the United States. The Cleveland Museum of Art and the Syracuse Museum of Art are credited for bringing it into the light. Kenneth Bates and Edward Winters are two of the best known enamelists in America.

The picture above photo of a Bird Cloisonne Plate from China, by Cindy Miller Hopkins available at AllPosters.com

My mother started teaching me how to copper enamel when I was about 11-12 years old. She had just started to learn about this art, and I learned along with her. We spent many an enjoyable day together, making bowls and plates and jewelry.

My parents owned a rock shop, and both of them were accomplished lapidaries. So this was another line that added to their inventory. Mom seldom kept any pieces, as they were always put up for sale in the store or at art shows. As I became more skilled, I exhibited my work as well. At one time we both had a nice selection of pieces for sale at Kansas Originals, a storefront that only featured original art by Kansans.

As a result, I have very few of my mother's enameled pieces, much to the dismay of my children. My mother always signed the back of her pieces with a VM for Violet Miller. I am always on the lookout for any enameling pieces that contain these initials. If any of my readers happen across one in their shopping, please feel free to contact me.

The picture above is one of the pieces I sold on E-Bay. It now belongs to some lucky winner and I hope they are deriving the enjoyment that my mother intended for them.

To get started you will need a kiln, unless you are lucky enough to find a club or art class that will let you use theirs. A kiln is a small oven specially designed to reach the high temperatures you need to melt the glass onto the metal. You will also need to get some basic enamels, copper pieces, and various tools.

I am very fortunate to have my own kiln, which is the same kiln that my mother bought all those years ago. She took very good care of it and it still works well, although the pyrometer, which measures the temperature inside the furnace, no longer works. I have to estimate when it is hot enough to fire or if it is getting too hot and needs to be cooled down a little. Mom also had hundreds of dollars of copper pieces and enamels to work with, so other than some basic items that I had to replenish, I was all set to go. My sister had been storing these things at her house after Mom went into a nursing home and had them shipped to me.

Enamels can be fired on several kinds of metals, such as brass and gold. But I prefer copper. One reason is that I grew up in the Copper Country of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. My dad used to work in the copper mines in the area. My parents also sold copper nuggets and jewelry made of copper in our shop. My dad hand-shaped copper bowls and trays and etched designs on them.

So it would be expected that most of my enameling would be on copper.
"Copper, as native copper, is one of the few metals to naturally occur as an uncompounded mineral. Copper was known to some of the oldest civilizations on record, and has a history of use that is at least 10,000 years old." (Wikipedia - Copper)

Copper Enamel Starter Kit

This exclusive supply kit includes basic enamel tools and firing supplies, plus a wonderful assortment of enamels to create colorful enamel art 10 opaque powders, and 8 oz. of thread enamels in a 7 color mix. With the copper jewelry shapes assortment, and our favorite beginner book Beginners Guide to Enameling, all you need is an enameling furnace or kiln to create some beautiful works of art on your very first try.

Dick Blick is a well known source for artist supplies.
Click on the link to see some of the enameling supplies.

Whenever I think of a new design, my thoughts turn to, "What would Mom think of that?" She and I had completely different styles. She liked to make designs using cloisonné, where as I like to use the painting technique, using different enamel colors next to each other without the separation of wire.

Cloisonné is a multicolor enameling process where each color is separated by metal wires that form little cups or cells. The word cloisonné comes from the French word, cloison, meaning cell. I remember Mom painstakingly bending silver wire to the desired shape and then filling the shape with the enamel. It produces dramatic and stunning look, but I have to admit, I have never learned the art.

There are many contemporary artists that do practice this technique. Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of any of my mother's cloisonné pieces to show you. I recommend you look at some of the art galleries on-line to see what other people have accomplished with this technique. I am always amazed at the fine detailed work they do.

The picture above is a very fine example of cloisonné entitled, "Regent Bowerbird", used with permission from the Allen Heywood Enamel Gallery. Please visit their site to see more high quality enameled work.

If you are looking for a more visual instruction than just reading books, I recommend getting the Sparkles of Enamel DVD.

From their website:
"The Enamel House (Limoges France) introduced a series of five films by Arnaud Peuch.

· The champlevé enamel with Hubert Martial
· The painted enamel with Robert Moussant
· The cloisonné enamel with Jean-Claude Bessette
· The enamel on bulky pieces with Christian Christel
· The plique enamel with Devon Buck-Mayo
· The engraving with chisel and materials research with Paul Buforn
· The brassware with Dominique Folliot

Through this unique work the principal techniques of traditional and contemporary enamelling and enamel jewellery are tackled in a simple and practical way. Experienced enamellers, specialists in each technique, set out the stages in the creation of their pieces, explaining the problems and the tricks of the trade.
These films also offer a window on their world, their artistic character, a meeting with those human beings who have dedicated their passion to the "arts of fire".
A visual delight, this display of skills will entrance both lovers of art and crafts and enamellers, whether just beginning or already established."

The DVD comes with both French and English soundtracks with Free shipping to USA CANADA and Australia.

This is a resource my mother would have loved to have if it had been available when she was creating her work.

There are times when other people can describe something better than I can myself. In that case, I have no problem referring to their explanation. I happened upon an article on a website which referred to the process of enameling in Jungian terms. It resonated with me, particularly as it related to my experiences with creating healing mandalas.

In an essay entitled, "The Empirical Life in the Spirit," the author described his experiences learning to copper enamel while living in a Benedictine monastery.
"Watching the transformations take place in my little enameling furnace, I felt a tremendous cathexis occur. (Cathexis is the process of investing mental or emotional energy in a person, object, or idea. This concept was developed by Sigmund Freud, and he described the projected energy as libido. Jung simply called it "psychic energy"). Something of me was in that furnace. Something of me was being transformed. It was exactly as Jung had described, in his study of the alchemists - the psyche was joining itself to the process!"

I had provided a link so that you could read the article in its entirety. Sadly, the internet is very temporary at times, and the original article has been removed. If I find it again, I will re-post it.

I believe that something like this happens in all forms of art, whether it is painting, writing, or sculpting. When you immerse yourself in the process, the world recedes and you find yourself connected to something deeper. In the case of enameling, the bonding of two materials, the glass and the copper, you create an alchemical reaction that changes not only the elements that make up the piece, but also the artist. And it can also affect the person who looks at it, or holds it, as they, too, are touched by the energies that went into the process. For this reason it is important that your enameling not be done when you are angry or emotionally upset, for these energies too can be felt by others.

Julia Cameron talks more about this in the book "The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity." She calls it "spiritual electricity" and states, "The heart of creativity is an experience of the mystical union; the heart of the mystical union is an experience of creativity."

Pictured above is one of the healing mandalas I created. In the bottom left hand corner, I embedded a small silver nugget. It is a piece I kept for myself. Most of the other pieces I gave away to friends and they often had pictures of their animal totems on them.

Glass on Metal magazine is the single largest compendium of information ever compiled on enameling on metal. They have both a hard copy magazine and an on-line version. There you can find out more of the basics, read articles on special processes, ask questions, and look at the gallery, and look at images from others who do this kind of art.

It is definitely worth a visit.

My mom and I frequently exhibited our pieces at art shows. These pictures were taken in the early 1990's at an art show in Kansas. My mom, Violet Miller, is in the top picture.

There I am, in the bottom picture, a lot younger and with curly hair.

Several people have commented on the colors of the spiral plate picture in the introduction. Since that one is not for sale (I have kept it for myself), I have decided to make it available as a plate design at Zazzle. Be aware that this plate is melamine, not enamel on copper. You will be getting the design, not the look and feel of actual enameled copper. That turned out so well, I decided to add an ornament as well.

I also experimented with using the background design and adding abstract art elements for a special look on the ornament and the mug.

Grannysagedesigns on Zazzle

Abstract Spiral
Plate
Abstract Spiral
Ornament
Abstract Spiral Flower
Mug

My mom, Violet Johnson Miller, passed on to the other side on May 20, 2009 at the age of 95. She had been suffering from dementia for many years. Not only was she a talented enamelist, she also created gemstone jewelry.

Violet L Miller Obituary

Many times throughout my life, my Mom would see something she liked, such as a sunset, a picture in a magazine,, or a colorful design, and would say, "that would make a great copper enameled piece." Many times we did just that. So when I found this abstract digital artist on Zazzle, I said exactly the same thing. Almost made me get out the kiln, but I gave it to my daughter when we moved into an RV. So I guess I need to learn how to do digital art!

Retimed abstract 5.5 by AbundanceLoveTrip
Create a digital canvas print