Introduction of Enamelist

Hi all, love this list! Name: Eileen Schneegas, Company: Snow
Goose Designs (one person of course!) Enamelist since 1990
practicing mainly CloisonnE9 technique. Currently learning
jewelry & metalsmithing from Karen Christians & enjoying it a
great deal. I’m looking for other Enamelists lurking out there on
the list or elsewhere. Would be happy to exchange
sources, etc.

Question: Has anyone done Enameling using both leaded enamels &
unleaded enamels in the same piece?20

I use mostly Thompson Enamels at present (unleaded), but taking
the lead out resulted in reds that don’t stay red & other things.
The old philosophy said: Unleaded over leaded, but never the
reverse. As I will be moving to England this summer (for approx…
2 year stay), I will start incorporating British enamels into my
palette. I also hope to find Enamelists & look for places where I
can see some of the ancient works. I’d also post some of my
"findings" as I travel if anyone was interested. The only
community that can keep up with my frequent moves live part-time
in cyberspace! Yes, I’ll continue to compute! Thanks all.

Eileen Schneegas
Snow Goose Designs
@D_A_Schneegas

Hi Eileen, Yes I mix the old Thompson colors and even a few of
the european brands with my new Thompson unleaded. By the way, so
does Valerie Timofeev, the stunning plique-a-jour guy. I
specifically asked him about it. With cloisonne it is important
to keep it seperated in different cells, Valerie uses
leaded/unleaded enamels next to each other in his plique-a-jour
work. I use them together on plaques but keep in mind the way
they mix is somewhat unpredictable and you should test fire the
combinations…it can cause a spiderwebbing effect, disapearing
enamels, problems with differences in firing times and some people
have mentioned crazing even though I havn’t had that happen.

Hope this helps

Karen in the Midwestern U.S.A

@karenworks1