Well been back to Edinburgh to do a one to one with Dorothy Cockerell , today we did plaque de jour , I ended up using some pre cast shapes for the task as I mentioned in my last blog the silver casting I did wasn’t very successful . The idea of the plaque de jour is that the enamel when fired will look like stained glass, best used on something that will hang and let light transmit through it. I have done a pair of ear rings. they are not totally finished yet they still have to be polished and ear hooks attached.
This particular technique is very frustrating for a beginner, every time I put the enamel in I dry it too quick and it falls out !! still I persist. And by lunchtime I have the first two firings done and I can see it develop, still a few holes and not joined at the edge on the large hole but I feel I a getting there. After lunch and two more firings I am happy ll the holes have filled and gone shiny, the hardest part it keeping the enamel wet to form a meniscus film, when I do the residential at higham hall this is defiantly one of the techniques I am going to do.
Next session with Dorothy July 20th so I need to get practicing before then
