Champlevé Pendant on Jade

Since I only have two more weeks of my enamels class I figured it would probably be a good idea to post one of my pieces to the ol’ blog. I am in the middle of working on a bundle of pieces and hope to finish them all in the next two weeks but that might be a bit too ambitious. So either I will take the class again in January (if I’m still in the DC area) or I will have to set up a studio or find another class when I move (the aim is to find a job/move in January but we’ll see).

This piece uses a technique called Champlevé, which involves etching the copper and then filling in the etched spaces with the enamel. It’s similar to Cloisonné, however in Cloisonné you form metal wire to create the “walls” instead of etching the metal.

P.S. During this set of 9 week classes I have vowed not to use my favorite color, Old Silver. It has been my standby but we don’t have much left in class and apparently they have stopped making it, so I am trying to pull away from my dependency. This piece uses a color called Pigeon Gray instead and it might be my new Old Silver.