Enameling Work
When I’m not designing, I’m still creating. I’ve been spending a lot of time in the studio doing enameling. The process uses a completely different part of my brain than graphic design does. I also find inspiration in all the possibilities of the enameling medium. It’s not an easy art form to master. My enameling instructor, Harriet Nearing, calls it the “Russian roulette of the art world” because a piece that you’ve fired 10 times can be unexplainably ruined in the last firing.
Enameling is the process of applying a thin coat of finely ground glass to a metal. When heated to a high temperature, the glass melts and fuses to the metal. Depending on the enameling technique, kiln firing temperatures are around 1450° to 1700° for 1.5 to 2.5 minutes.
