Experimenting with Enamels

June 20, 2022

Getting up at 5am has its advantages.  I was finished with my enameling experiments by noon.  That's a good thing because I don't leave my kiln on without me being there (other than for a minute or two at a time).  So on days dedicated to enameling, I'm pretty much in the studio all day long.  No leisurely lunch in front of the TV, no checking out posts on Facebook, and no answering the phone because I'm using the timers on my phone.

But I really enjoy enameling days.  There's something soothing about getting into a rhythm working on multiple projects.  When one comes out of the kiln, another one has cooled and is ready for the alundum stone, from there another is ready for another coat of sifted enamels or it's time to record my steps or a piece is ready for the drying rack (the top of the kiln), and before you know it the kiln is ticking and ready for another piece.  

There are a lot of steps that go into enameling and it can take a really long time, but I love the payoff of pulling the piece out of the kiln at the last step of the process.  I'm so anxious to see what the finished product looks like, I have a chair next to my kiln so I can stand on the chair and see the piece, taken freshly out of the kiln and placed on top of the kiln for slower cooling.  Yes, that's right... I can't even wait for it to cool for a minute or two... I wanna see it NOW!

Here are some recent test pieces.

I'm often asked how I achieved a certain effect.  If you know me, you know the bottom line is that it's hours and hours of trials and tests and experimenting with different substances and variations of temperature or duration, etc.  I keep meticulous notes (when I bother) and it got me to thinking that I could put out a little recipe book of my tests.  There may be designs, colors, or patterns that I've achieved that others may want to replicate or play around with.

If you think that's something that would interest you, let me know.  Comment here and make sure you're signed up for my newsletter because that's generally where I first announce the availability of new workshops and tutorials.

Here's the link for signing up: Laura's Newsletter (which gets emailed about 6 times a year)