Basse Taille and More Workshop

April 9-10, 2022 at Glen Echo National Park

Join us for a two day enamel workshop to learn and have fun!  Tina Chisena and other local enamelists will demonstrate Basse Taille — firing transparent colors over a textured surface — using stamping and hammers. We will learn how to give depth and appearance to enamel pieces through color control, layering and underglazes. Students will also learn the tricks of enameling objects with dimension. $250 plus material fee.

Registration for the April 9-10 Workshop at Glen Echo begins online February 17, 11 am ET,  at Glen Echo Park Class Registration.  Go to the “spring/summer 2022 semester”.  You need to set up an account (free) with Glen Echo.

For questions, contact Sara Paulson: sarapaulson@gmail.com; or
Tina Chisena: tinachisena@verizon.net

Charity Hall Workshop a Success!

Nine students gathered at Glen Echo April 5-7 for Charity Hall’s workshop on Drawing and Painting in enamels.  We worked with several different painting mediums, including Thompson water colors, Sunshine colors and mason stains, and refined our creations with underglaze black applied with a quill pen.  We worked with liquid enamel and learned tricks for mastering sgrafitto.  Charity also taught us the technique she developed for enamels that glow in the dark.  A good time was had by all.

Charity Hall Workshop April 5-7, 2019

Spring Workshop:  Charity Hall 

Charity Hall will teach a three day workshop April 5-7, 2019 at Glen Echo National Park in Maryland, on the outskirts of Washington, DC.  The class will focus on drawing and painting in enamels. Registration opens January 27, 2019.  Go to www.glenechopark.org, or call the registrar at 301-634-2226.  Email sarapaulson@gmail.com with any questions.

A description follows:

Using powdered glass and copper as your palette, explore the art of painting in enamel. Best of all, you don’t need to know how to draw or paint! We will apply freeform brush strokes and watercolor techniques to create colorful images using a variety of materials. Unlock the secrets of kiln firing and apply these techniques to make objects d’art from jewelry sized pieces to small bowls or tiles.

There are many ways to paint on enamel. In this workshop, we will cover a variety of materials in depth. Thompson watercolor enamels are a fun, beginner-friendly product to quickly add color. Although firing watercolor enamels can seem finicky, we will explore this in a step-by-step format to maximize their potential, adding fine line details and final finishing with textured transparent overlays. 

Mason stains are pigments that are commonly used to color everything from ceramic glazes to concrete. When mixed with flux and a binding agent, mason stains offer the enamelist an endless array of brilliant color that resists burning out in subsequent firings. This means that you can fire these over and over again without losing the color saturation from previous firings. We will explore both painting and sgraffito with mason stains as well as combining with other products, such as fine line underglaze black. 

Details are what truly makes a piece pop. Great attention will be given to hone skills, such as applying underglaze black to achieve the finest possible line quality and examining different methods to create final surface finishes, from glossy and clear to transparent matte. 

The class will use liquid enamel to create freeform drawings in sgrafitto, and will also investigate how to apply the sgrafitto technique to other materials, including watercolor enamels, mason stains and underglaze black to refine and adjust imagery and line quality.

 

The Enameled Bowl Workshop

Averill Shepps, the well-known enamel artist, will teach a workshop November 10-11, 2018 that will focus on sifted enameling techniques used to produce a bowl. While the techniques learned can be applied to many other enameled shapes, the bowl’s steeper surface works well for the student to observe and practice the best methods for sifting and spraying to cover it properly.  Mastering sifting techniques opens whole new approaches to what is possible with enamel.

She will address methods for preparing the copper for enameling, and grade sifting enamel (mainly transparent enamel) into different grain sizes.  Clarity and depth of color will be an aim of the end result. The workshop will cover firing times and temperatures, including using underfiring as a technique to obtain control of your work. The workshop will also demonstrate creating designs for bowls using brushes, templates and stencils.  Enamels will be provided; students can bring or buy copper shapes/bowls.

Averill Shepps was educated as a scientist which has given her a greater understanding of the technical aspects of enameling that are often not explained. She will teach the why of a technique as well as just the how.  For more information on Averill, go to www.enamelist.com.

The workshop will be held at Glen Echo National Park, Glen Echo, Maryland

November 10-11, 2018  10:30 – 5:00

Registration opens August 5, 2018

Cost $250

Metal Clay Course a Success! Plus new Enamel Book looking for entries.

Metal Clay artist Cindy Silas taught a workshop on enameling on metal clay May 18-20 that was a great success.  The participants were able to make and enamel jewelry pieces on both copper and silver clay.  Many of us had never tried metal clay before, but by the end of the workshop had made some lovely pieces.  Cindy taught us a wide range of metal clay techniques, from regenerating hardened metal clay to texturing the clay, adhering layers, and adding gems.

At the next NEG workshop Averill Shepps will teach us her tricks for enameling on copper bowls and other 3-D shapes.  That workshop will take place at Glen Echo National Park November 10-11, 2018

New Version of The Art of Fine Enameling

Karen Cohen, who put together The Art of Fine Enameling 15 years ago is in the process of updating the book with a new publisher.  She is looking for photo submissions.  The techniques she is looking for and how to submit photos (and the needed permission form) can be found at the following link: http://www.kcEnamels.com/enamel_book2 . If you have any questions, email: karen@kcEnamels.com or call 845-597-8386.

 

Upcoming Workshop: Enameling on Metal Clay

The National Enamelist Guild is offering a workshop May 18-20, 2018 at Glen Echo, Maryland, from 10:30 to 4:30.  Cindy Silas, a well-known metal clay artist, will teach the class.  Students will learn to make and enamel metal clay jewelry or other small items in both silver and copper clay. They will spend the first two days creating metal pieces for enameling with custom shapes, thicknesses, textures, and embellishments such as bails, bezels, and fireable gemstones. Students will learn metal clay specific techniques such as texturing, cutting, doming, construction, firing and finishing. By day three or before students will start enameling their pieces plus learn a few additional techniques that Cindy has developed that can embellish enameled work.

The cost is $350 for three days, plus a supply fee for the metal clay depending on how much you use. To register: (1) go to http://www.glenechopark.org, (2) click on “Take a Class”, then “Register”; (3) under “Catalog Search”, Type “Enameling on Metal Clay”. Or call the registrar at 301-634-2226. To see more on metal clay and the instructor go to www.cindysilas.com. Or contact sarapaulson@gmail.com.

Enamelist Society Summer Workshops

The Enamelist Society is offering workshops this summer from July 30-August 4, 2018 at the WW Carpenter Foundation in Bellevue, KY.  Instructors include Linda Darty (Cloisonné), John Killmaster (“Granular Spray – Sgrafitto Grisaille” and Enamel Crayons and Watercolors), Jessica Calderwood (“50 Shades of Gray”), and Marissa Saneholtz (Champlevé).

Registration for the 2018 Summer Workshop Series is now open. You can find the link to the registration form by following this link. All of the workshop information can be found on the Workshops page of the Society’s website as well (http://www.enamelistsociety.org/Activities/Workshops). Student Supply Lists will be made available later.  The Society has a block of rooms available at the Holiday Inn Express in Bellevue for $139/night, although they do not have a booking link available yet. Once the booking link for the rooms is available they will post it on the registration form as well as the Workshops page of their website. For questions please contact them via email (info@enamelistsociety.org or webmaster@enamelistsociety.org) or by phone (770-807-0142).

Enameling on Metal Clay Workshop

We are happy to announce that registration is now open for the Enameling on Metal Clay Workshop, which will take place at Glen Echo Park in Maryland May 18-20, 2018.  The class will be taught by well known metal clay artist Cindy Silas.  The class will meet Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 t0 4:30.  The cost is $350 for three days, plus a supply fee for the metal clay depending on how much you use.  To register: (1) go to www.glenechopark.org, (2) click on “Take a Class”, then “Register”; (3) under “Catalog Search”, Type “Enameling on Metal Clay”.  Or call the registrar at 301-634-2226. 

In this workshop, students will learn to make and enamel metal clay jewelry or other small items in both silver and copper clay.  They will spend the first two days creating metal pieces for enameling with custom shapes, thicknesses, textures, and embellishments such as bails, bezels, and fireable gemstones.  Students will learn metal clay specific techniques such as texturing, cutting, doming, construction, firing and finishing.  By day three or before students will start enameling their pieces plus learn a few additional techniques that Cindy has developed that can embellish enameled work.

Enamels will be provided.  Students can buy PMC3 silver and COPPRclay from the instructor of bring those brands of metal clay.  To see more on metal clay and the instructor go to www.cindysilas.com.

Enameling on Metal Clay Workshop

Coming up soon: a three day workshop dedicated to enameling on metal clay, to be taught by Cindy Silas, a well known metal clay artist. The workshop will take place September 15-17, 2017 (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) from 10:30am-4:30pm, at the Glen Echo Park in Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC.

Students will learn to make and enamel metal clay jewelry or other small items in both silver and copper clay.  They will spend the first two days creating metal clay pieces for enameling with custom shapes, thicknesses, textures, and embellishments such as bails, bezels, and fireable gemstones. Students will learn metal clay specific techniques such as texturing, cutting, doming, construction, firing, and finishing.  Enameling on other metals that are available in clay form such as sterling, bronze, and steel will be discussed.  On day three, students will learn the ins and outs of enameling their metal clay creations plus learn a few additional techniques that Cindy has developed that can embellish enameled work. Enamels will be provided. Students can buy PMC3 silver and COPPRclay from the instructor or bring those brands of metal clay. The cost of the three day workshop is $350.  Sign up through Glen Echo (www.glenechopark.org or contact registrar@glenechopark.org) To see more on metal clay and the instructor go to www.cindysilas.com. For more information email sarapaulson@gmail.com.

Jan Harrell Workshop

The Jan Harrell Workshop which took place at Glen Echo May 19-21 was a a great success!  The group learned a large number of Jan’s enamel tricks that make enameling easier and more fun.  These included sgrafitto, stenciling, decals, foils, pencil drawing, and many other techniques.  For those who missed her, Jan is teaching a stencil course at the Enamelist Society meeting in Arrowmont, TN.  Google her for a listing of other courses she is offering this year and next.

New up — well known metal clay artist Cindy Silas is teaching a three day workshop on enameling on metal clay this fall.  The course runs from September 15 – 17, 2017, at Glen Echo National Park in Glen Echo, Maryland 20812.  The participants will spend the first two days learning how to manipulate silver and copper clay, and on the third day will  be enameling the pieces.  More details will be offered soon