Anatomy of a Cloisonne Piece

This series of photos shows my first cloisonne piece in various stages of construction.

The first is of the domed fine silver disc after its second firing.  The first firing was to apply clear enamel to the disc.  Once the cloisonne wire has been adhered to the disc using Klyr-Fire, the second firing re-melts the clear coat and fuses the wire to the disc.  The excess wire which overhangs the disc may safely be clipped off after two or more enamel applications, once you're certain they've been fused completely in place.

In the next photo, the first layer of colored enamels has been wet-packed into the cloisonne cells and dried, giving it the appearance of sugar crystals.  For the sun, I began with an opaque yellow color.  After fusing, I added shreds of gold foil with several subsequent layers and firings of a transparent orangey color.  I apologize for the quality of this photo ... it was taken during class with my cell phone.  :(

After several additional layers of enamel application, subsequent firings, polishing 'til my arms were ready to fall off and a final fire-polish ... the finished piece.