Froggy went a courting

Hi All,

This is a piece I've nearly finished. I'm just waiting for some wire for the brooch fitting, it can also be worn as a pendant. Its the second frog I've done the first was fine silver but this one is sterling. It is champleve enamel and the fourth piece of enamel I've done, I'm still a complete novice and loving finding out about the enamelling process. The cells for the enamel were mainly engraved but I did try out some cutting with burrs. I find the engraving is better as I have more control. Some of the cells were then textured with a bur after they were engraved. It was torch fired and this has worked out much better than the first frog where I had problems with the red reacting to the propane torch, the torch I used on this one was propane/oxygen. Some colours are fine with torch firing but some are very temperamental. I used super pickle to clean the silver before enamelling and that seems to have worked well. I had problems with the cloisonne parts, I will have to get some of the fine tweezers that the real enamelists use. There are a number of different frogs that I have images for and I'll be experimenting more in the months to come. Let me know what you thinks please.

Attachment 12374

Thank you for showing that Alastair. It will give some of us heart to try it for ourselves. I particularly like the way the textures cut into the metal influence the enamel and the controlled way that the colours blend into each other. Dennis.

Lovely piece Alastair.

That's fab!! Aren't you clever :)

Nice job. ( he/she thinks so as well I can tell by the big smile )I have never had a problem with propane and re enamel, then I do not do very much enamel these days, I have one on the list so I better do some testing first

Thank you all for the nice comments its much appreciated

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Originally Posted by china

I have never had a problem with propane and re enamel

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Your comment has caused me to reevaluate my supposed problem with propane and I don't think I'm right with my assumption that it was propane that was the problem. What I also did differently on the first piece was to apply the torch directly where the enamel was and I think this may have caused overheating on the surface of the enamel with the red reacting most. I didn't do that with this piece, all of the heat was from below. I think that this is why counter enamel on torch fired items is generally unsuccessful with the counter enamel turning a muddy brown.

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Originally Posted by Dennis

and the controlled way that the colours blend into each other..

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Thank you Dennis, I think it has been partially successful but I've got some more work to do to get it how I would like it, isn't that always the way ;-)

I think you may have solved your own problem, I have only ever heated with a torch from below, back in the seventies I made many many hundreds of enameled copper pieces, you could not make enough back then, all done with a torch Back then instead of
counter enamel I used a lacquer on the back, I know this is not correct but it twas how every one did it back then.

That’s great. Really impressed with the fact it’s torch enamel. The quality n your last piece on Instagram looked amazing.
My OH had bought a starter kit a couple of years ago with mixed results as he’s not a jeweller. He is now following your free book link and her work and is in the shed as we speak with some of my fine silver filigree wire. He needs a new project now that he may be here until the end of Aug and so I don’t kill him in the meantime. He is very fired up about is, excuse the pun, but now he’ll talk about nothing else. It’s not one of my interests and I’ll have to tune him out to focus on my own work!

I’ve been passing on your comments and results to him so will tell him about your torch finding although he does like to find these things out for himself and doesn’t take tuition well from me on anything:/

Thank you for the nice comment.

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Originally Posted by CJ57

That’s great. Really impressed with the fact it’s torch enamel.

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I've wanted to try enamelling since I was around 15 years old and have only just got around to it really since I saw some torch fired enamel on YouTube. I did not want to spend out a lot on equipment, especially if I was not going to do a lot of it.

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Originally Posted by CJ57

I’ll have to tune him out to focus on my own work!

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Headphones work quite well :-)

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Originally Posted by CJ57

I’ve been passing on your comments and results to him so will tell him about your torch finding

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If he is trying transparent enamels then make sure they are washed thoroughly so that only the larger grains are left. I use tap water initially and then do a final couple of rinses with deionised water. I do grind down the surface after with a carborundum stone and then give a final fire.

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Originally Posted by CJ57

he does like to find these things out for himself

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I'm just the same, its the interesting part. :-)

Thanks Alastair.I’ll pass this on.
Funnily enough a small amount of expertise having taken up fold forming a few years back seemed to enable him to give me advice on jewellery making after 40 years. I bit my tongue!

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Originally Posted by CJ57

seemed to enable him to give me advice on jewellery making after 40 years. I bit my tongue!

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I think he should be referred to your HR department for a training course :-D

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Originally Posted by alastairduncan

I think he should be referred to your HR department for a training course :-D

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That would be me then :)

Oh my goodness, he is gorgeous! I love the colours. I was fascinated by frogs when I was younger and collected anything frog related. Beautiful little beings and you have captured so well here. Karen

You would have had something in common with my brother he use to breed frogs

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Originally Posted by Animalnutty

Oh my goodness, he is gorgeous! I love the colours. I was fascinated by frogs when I was younger and collected anything frog related. Beautiful little beings and you have captured so well here. Karen

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Thank you Karen, I can't claim to capturing anything as all I did was munge together a few internet images with a little artistic licence which enabled me to work around my limitations. I also like frogs I've made a small pond which currently has masses of frog spawn. Some have already hatched which is very early this year. We also have some dragonfly larvae and these do eat some of the tadpoles otherwise we would be inundated by little frogs later in the year.

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Originally Posted by china

You would have had something in common with my brother he use to breed frogs

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I never really thought about such a thing as breeding frogs, but I guess there are some very unusual breeds. I don't know what it was that fascinated me so much but always loved them and still find them very endearing little beings.

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Originally Posted by alastairduncan

Thank you Karen, I can't claim to capturing anything as all I did was munge together a few internet images with a little artistic licence which enabled me to work around my limitations. I also like frogs I've made a small pond which currently has masses of frog spawn. Some have already hatched which is very early this year. We also have some dragonfly larvae and these do eat some of the tadpoles otherwise we would be inundated by little frogs later in the year.

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Still your own interpretation and done beautifully. Your pond sounds heavenly, also absolutely love dragonfly. My partner builds and maintains ponds for a living, he is fish mad though, I'd be quite happy just seeing a pond full of frogs :D