Using Cloisonne Wire

Zigs and Zags

First of all, I do not know at lot about cloisonne enameling. I have done a little but it's very time consuming and fine work and I hope to master it some day. That being said, I still wanted to share my experiment in putting my zig zag cloisonne wire on an enameled charm.

 I enameled the backs and the fronts in a layer of clear and then counter enameled the backs with one coat of Orient Red. I then cut the wire to fit on the fronts. It's OK if the wire is a bit too long. I placed the wire where I wanted it and using a paintbrush, I put drops of my adhesive under the wire.

 Let it dry completely and fire it for 2 minutes or until the wire sinks slightly into the clear enamel.

Make sure you put it in the pickle after every firing to make sure you get all the fire scale off the wire. Mix a small amount of Orient Red enamel with a few drops of distilled water. If it's too watery just use a "point" of paper towel to absorb the excess.

 Using a paintbrush push the enamel mixture next to the wire.

I decided to put black around the edges. I used a small paintbrush to add some amounts of distilled water to try to blend the colors. Then I put it on top of my kiln until it was completely dry and fired it. When cool I repeated the process but I wanted the colors to be a bit more gradual so I added some Victoria red. After this firing, cut or file the wire to the edges.

 My final coat was another layer of clear. I sifted it heavier over the wire so it would cover it completely and fired until very shiny.  These are my Broken Heart charms!