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Organization: Technikon Natal
Hi Susan
I’ve done quite a bit of what you call ‘fire glazing’ I call it
torch firing. I have had been quite successful with some enamels,
mainly the transparent enamels from Schauer and also some Blythe
enamels. To stick the enamels to the copper I use Tramil (gum
tragacanth). I fire the pieces from behind and use the biggest
flame in the workshop, usually the annealing torch. Obviously the
backing enamel is affected but I have found some enamels that are
not too severely affected. I have also found that it helps to
hold a piece of stainless steel mesh between the flame and the
piece you are firing. This process does need an extra hand
sometimes.
This method of firing is not really suitable for cloissonne type
work (if you are using fine silver cloissonne wire) because it is
dificult to control the heat, usually by the time you see
something going wrong it is too late to stop the process!
Good luck!
Chris