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Enamel on copper plaque is it Arts and Crafts movement?
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<p>[QUOTE="elarnia, post: 14490, member: 159"]Actually the edges of the OP's item look like a sheet of 18 gauge copper, hand cut. It's not at all common to use a "wax" to keep enamel on an item since enamel is fired at 1400 -1500 degrees, and any wax would burn off long before the glass set. Glass enamels do not "run" as as such - they do not "fill in" as they melt. Glass does "pull back" from the edges of the copper, causing the black edge. It's not uncommon for a finished item, like a signed plaque, to be filed along the edge if it's not going to be set into a bevel. You use a stone to do it. It cuts down on the risk of glass chips and splinters as well as looking nicer than a plain fired edge. That's not, however, what I see on this item - just a fired edge that has been around long enough to get some "micro-chips" in it.</p><p><br /></p><p>I would guess the item in question was fired several times - first for the background, then a clear coat, then the stems and bugs were drawn in, then the green sifted on for the leaves. This is very much what enamel looks like when sifted loosely and perhaps over-fired a bit. Look at the white in the item Messilane posted. I think the patina in the center of the item is probably from copper directly under a clear coat of enamel - depending on the clear enamel used you can get some very nice effects this way. But it could be from a very artistic sifting of different colors, too.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here's an example from the cover of Fred Ball's book -</p><p>[ATTACH=full]3483[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>- Cheers[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="elarnia, post: 14490, member: 159"]Actually the edges of the OP's item look like a sheet of 18 gauge copper, hand cut. It's not at all common to use a "wax" to keep enamel on an item since enamel is fired at 1400 -1500 degrees, and any wax would burn off long before the glass set. Glass enamels do not "run" as as such - they do not "fill in" as they melt. Glass does "pull back" from the edges of the copper, causing the black edge. It's not uncommon for a finished item, like a signed plaque, to be filed along the edge if it's not going to be set into a bevel. You use a stone to do it. It cuts down on the risk of glass chips and splinters as well as looking nicer than a plain fired edge. That's not, however, what I see on this item - just a fired edge that has been around long enough to get some "micro-chips" in it. I would guess the item in question was fired several times - first for the background, then a clear coat, then the stems and bugs were drawn in, then the green sifted on for the leaves. This is very much what enamel looks like when sifted loosely and perhaps over-fired a bit. Look at the white in the item Messilane posted. I think the patina in the center of the item is probably from copper directly under a clear coat of enamel - depending on the clear enamel used you can get some very nice effects this way. But it could be from a very artistic sifting of different colors, too. Here's an example from the cover of Fred Ball's book - [ATTACH=full]3483[/ATTACH] - Cheers[/QUOTE]
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