Julie Aves

I enamel bowls and jewellery, all enamel on copper.  This has a warm, tactile feel, and the colours achieved are a delight, if occasionally not what expected!  Enamel is powdered glass which I sieve onto the copper pieces, then fire in a small kiln at about 900 degrees C.

Each piece is enamelled several times until the desired or a pleasing effect is achieved.  I have also experimented with raku firing.  This is a process more usually associated with ceramics, but I have found a way to do this with enamels.

The resulting colours are stunning - beautiful coppers and blues. It is an exciting process whereby I take the hot piece out of the kiln, drop it into a bin of combustible material such as shredded paper, then quickly put the lid on to create a reduced oxygen atmosphere. </p?

This produces different colours to those achieved if left to cool down in the air as normal.  When I feel like a change from enamelling I work in ceramics, making decorative items for the garden.