Beginner's Guide to Enamelling - by Dorothy Cockrell (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Enamelling - the art of decorating metal with a layer of powdered, melted glass - is an exciting, vibrant craft, brought to life here by respected author and teacher Dorothy Cockrell.

Featuring a foreword from the Guild of Enamellers, this is the ultimate authority on the exciting craft of enamelling, containing a full step-by-step guide to getting started and packed with inspiring ideas to try.

To enamel, powdered glass is sifted onto a piece of copper, melted for a few moments in a small kiln and cooled - it then glows with permanent colour. The colours produced can be vivid or subtle, plain or shaded, light or dark, as you choose. Unlike paints, enamelled colours do not fade with time, making this heritage craft a wonderful way to create lasting heirlooms and unique, artisan gifts.

• COMPLETE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO GETTING STARTED: The book contains a complete step-by-step guide to firing, with an in-depth safety guide.
• PRE-CUT SHAPES FOR A SIMPLE START: All the projects are created using readily available pre-cut copper shapes, making it easy for you to get started.
• INSPIRING SELECTION OF PROJECTS including jewellery, decorative boxes, pictures, bowls and many other unique designs - all supported with Dorothy's vibrant work.
• BUILD UP YOUR SKILLS: A range of fascinating techniques are explored, including Raku fir-ing and silver lustre, stencilling, adding insets, wet laying, working on curved surfaces, sgrafitto and liquid enamel, using rubber stamps, gold and silver leaf, and more.
• BUDGET-CONSCIOUS MATERIALS GUIDE: A kiln is the most expensive piece of equipment that you will need, but most of the rest can be found around the house or made from 'free' materials.

The vibrant colours and wonderful textures will make you want to experiment and develop your own projects.

About the Author

Dorothy Cockrell was a teacher for many years, making silver jewellery and learning enamelling in her spare time. Retirement set her free to pursue her interest, and she began to win awards for her work from the Guild of Enamellers. She edited their journal for 28 years, and now teaches from her home and in a local lapidary club. Dorothy works in the former coal-hole of her home in Scotland, finding inspiration from poetry, natural patterns and colours, textiles and the work of other craftspeople. She finds experimenting, bending the rules and discovering new techniques as satisfying as producing finished enamelled pieces.