In this one-day class you will learn the basics of vitreous enamelling, which is applying and fusing glass to a metal base (copper) using heat. You will make up to three pieces in this class which make great jewellery.

Initially we will look at sifting enamel (powdered glass) to apply both counter enamel and enamel to the front of your pieces. We will then look at using the wet packing technique as a way of repairing any problems that may have occurred during the firing process and to use in design. Students will fire their own pieces each time so that they really start to understand the firing process.

Once an even layer of glass has been applied to your enamelled piece, glass media in the form of milli fiori beads, glass threads or multicoloured ‘crystal’ enamel can be applied for extra decoration.

One of the exciting things about enamelling is that once you apply glass and heat together in a kiln, you are never entirely sure of the outcome, so students need to be adaptable to change their designs, as necessary.

Toni will discuss the considerations you need to make when firing your pieces and how to reduce the risks of certain problems such as firescale build up, and overfiring of your work.