[SCA-AS] Re: [EKMetalsmiths] Pinzart 6"x6" Sheet Mica

[rmhowe]

A. Fisher wrote:

>Mica is indeed one way of supporting plique. It is my understanding that 
>while the enamel does stick to it, it only sticks to the uppermost layer 
>of the mica, and the remnants can be stoned off during finishing. 
>Gradually one would use up the mica sheet, but it would take a while.
>  
>
Thank you for all the information, here is what my teacher,
Lillian, said her experiences are:

>Well, I don't know much about Plique a jour.
>
>I have tried it over mica,  just pierce your silver and lay it on a mica
>sheet, filling the voids with enamel.  Wires are OK, too, but it should be
>structural enough to hold together.  The mica peels off after you are done.
>It leaves a funky finish, which I guess you could stone off and flash fire.
>
>Valerie Timofeev is a Russian who builds filigree cups and bowls and fills
>it with enamel. It is transparent, and amazing.  I have no clue how it
>works, but I am guessing that it has to do with surface tension, rather than
>backing it.
>
>You can also enamel with silver filigree on copper foil and etch away the
>foil after.  I you get any better answers, I'd be interested.
>
That was Lillian's sum total reply. 
I will pass your tips on to her.
Everyone contributes, everyone learns.

If enameling isn't everyone's cup of tea it at least has it's
own skill set and keeps useful chatter going.  ;)

I hope we get some other replies.

It would be very interesting seeing some awards pierced
and transparent.  Earrings made this way could be
especially attractive with the light passing through them.
Myself? I like pendants and badge making generally,
domed and not domed.

I made all the tiny leaves, stems and knot for a Laurel
medallion several years ago from fine silver ribbon,
put it in the kiln, and I guess someone must have bumped
the table because they all shifted off center when they
melted into the glass.  There went two day's work.

I had taken a long thin needle nosed set of pliers and
ground the leaf shape onto them on the gradually tapering
jaws.  One side being rounded, the other being tapered
to a point. By gripping the stem in the leaf itself first
I could then wind it around the pliers and then bend the
'in air' stem away from the leaf and it had worked really well.

For the knot I used my broken and ground needle eye stuck in a
pin-vise invention.  If the wire is annealed then your bends
can be as small as one side of the needle eye and you can
bend to your pattern flat on your paper pattern.

At least with a -pierced sheet- this could not happen.

As to the unfortunate black spots from popped firescale or
the result of using blue glue to hold the ribbons on in difficult
places that leaves holes in the enamel - I use a very sharp
awl point to crack them out, refill, and remelt.
I also think that the firescale often cracks off the stainless
steel trivets that we use to support the pieces in the furnace.
So cleaning them might help. The only exposed copper I
have when I fire is on the edges since I fire both sides at
once for the initial firing.

Just picked up a Jelenko Dental Furnace off eBay today.
I didn't expect to win by at least $40 but I guess many
people forgot to bid on it.  It only went about $11 above
the $69 starting price.  These things have a 3 x 3 x 3"
firing chamber, so would seem adequate for enameling.
There are lots of them on eBay under dental equipment
or Jelenko.  I figured someone would bid over $100,
so bid just to see what would happen in the low $80's
Very surprised when I won.

I reckon I shall buy some mica now since I know how it
is used thanks to you two.

As to the ceramic sheet - could you not use some tile
and possibly coat it with spray silicone or thin kiln wash
or bead release as a parting release and then stone it off? 
Or coat it with lamp-black from a candle on the surface?
This is what pewterers did before pouring metal into a
bronze mold.  They held their mold parts above the
candle upside down to coat it.

We used to coat rtv molds with vaseline sprayed in an
airbrush after we had thinned it with Methyl Ethyl Ketonr
or MEK, available at many paint stores. Seems like it
might be possible to do the same with thinned bead release.

At this I am just speculating.
How useful it might be I don't know.

Thank you,

Magnus

Any contextual errors are due to the fact I am having
serious trouble staying awake just now.  |<)

>Other possibilities: I've heard of titanium being used similarly, but 
>the people I know who have tried it said it stuck. I think one needs to 
>fire the titanium a few times first, to build up an oxide coating or 
>some such.
>
>You can also buy a fairly expensive and fragile but quite useful thin 
>ceramic sheet- maybe 2x2 inches- and a support for it. The enamel sticks 
>a tiny bit to it, but not badly. It is expensive, small and really 
>fragile, though. I've used this, and it works pretty well. (I haven't 
>personally used the others.)
>
>Generally I fire "in air"- meaning that the enamel isn't supported by 
>anything, really. The metal frame is on a tripod support. There are 
>limitations on cell size and I think it tends to require more firings, 
>but one can do domed shapes that way, which is why I prefer it.
>
>I would not trust glass as the bond between plique wires. If I do 
>filigree, I solder it (eutectic or IT solder, then depletion gild). You 
>can also pierce sheet by sawing (or, I suppose, etching) to make the cells.
>
>I think etching, then removing the backing metal mechanically, sounds 
>like a horrible amount of work. And I'd be concerned about acids 
>affecting the enamel. Still, I know it's a traditional approach, at 
>least in theory!
>
>I do not tend to use copper in plique, since the firescale tends to pop 
>off while the glass is still tacky, resulting in black specks in the 
>enamel. I do have a piece of pierced copper with silver filigree that I 
>built to experiment with, though. Just earrings, so not a big deal if it 
>fails!
>
>Hope this helps!
>
>-Amanda Fisher
>http://www.afmetalsmith.com
>
>rmhowe wrote:
>  
>
>>Okay, this has my curiosity up.  I have never heard of enameling on mica 
>>before.
>>The only too brief page mentions no back enameling.
>>
>>Questions:
>>
>>I presume it doesn't stick to the mica?
>>
>>Can you lay down wires and fire between them on it?
>>
>>I may need someone to reexplain the plique a jour technique to me.
>>I understand it is like enameling in a set of small windows only I thought
>>the depressions in  the metal were first eaten out by an acid, and then
>>once the enamels were fired in them, that probably the front is covered
>>with enamel and the back removed by abrasion or etching to expose the
>>cells.  Here is your chance to educate me on something.
>>I wouldn't ask if I knew. I have never done enameling on mica or
>>pliique a jour.  I have done plain enameling and silver cloissone [which
>>can be also done with copper wire]. 
>>
>>Would someone elucidate?
>>
>>Magnus
>>
>>http://pinzart.zoovy.com/c=MaLXZuJrPkiH74Uo4Qeh1tjjB/product/0973-MIC-2
>>    
>>