Be as a bird...

“Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings.” Victor Hugo

I had all these little copper birds cut out and waiting for enamel. This week, I finally got around to working on them. I really enjoy the whole enameling process. I love layering different colors, and scratching in texture and line. It is amazing to see what happens when they are exposed to the intense heat of the kiln. I like to experiment with wrapping and bending the wire to create the slightly odd pendant bails.

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Friday Night at Mistletoe Market

Tonight was the first night of Mistletoe Market. My mom went down to Anderson with me and helped me set up for the show. She had already taken my big box of pendants home with her this week and spent time organizing them into categories, colors, styles, etc.

This was a huge help when putting them on display...oh, she did that too! Thanks Mom for all your help! I loved having you with me.

We got to the museums about 2:15 and were finished setting up just about the time the first customers came in at 4:00. There was a pretty good crowd there tonight. The event was very well organized. I enjoyed meeting the people who had been sending me advance emails in person.

A colonnade at the entrance of the museum

A fountain outside the museum

My booth

A few new enameled copper pendants

A Little Copper Pendant

I love creating these little copper enameled pendants. Its really takes a lot more time to create one of these, than it does one of the glass pieces. It's true that fused glass requires much more kiln time. Mine are generally in the kiln 8 hours or more when cooling time is factored in.

The copper goes in and out of a really hot kiln multiple times, but it's all very quick. To create this little one, I cut the shape out of a piece of copper using snips, filed off the rough edges, hammered it and created an indention in the middle, drilled a hole, and then I used a torch to burn off any oil left by my fingers.

Once clean, I sprayed with an adhesive, sifted it with enamel powder, and stuck it into the hot and ready kiln. In a matter of minutes, the powder had fused to the metal. This process was repeated several times with different powders until I like the effect and color.

On this one, I put glass jewels or chunks into the indented area and fired to melt into a liquid pool.

Once it was cool, I added a copper jump ring and soldered it closed.

Cupcake to Order

I haven't done much enameling lately. I usually have to concentrate on glass to the exclusion of other things, to keep pace for the various show and shops. But the other day, I pulled out the copper and started cutting. My daughter likes the copper pendants and wears a heart and a little bird a lot, so when she saw me with the copper sheet, she requested a cupcake. Below is the final piece. To me, it looks more like a muffin, but she liked it. I think maybe next time, I will add a little curl of icing to the top and maybe a few sprinkles. I did enjoy creating it though. I got a chance to use the enamel watercolors I had bought a while back. Those open up a whole bunch of possibilities.