Cloisonne is a method of enameling metal, in which patterns or areas of color are outlined by using a copper or bronze wire that is bent into shapes and attached to the body of the piece. Beads made this way are extremely popular. They vary in size and quality, from tiny 1/4-inch beads to large ones the size of a shooter marble, and from inexpensive beads made of copper to finely-crafted pieces of pure silver.
Body
The technique of cloisonne has been around for thousands of years. Though China leads the world in this style of enameling, it was not invented there. The earliest evidence of cloisonne was found in Cyprus, and dates to the 13th Century B.C.
Steps
Making cloisonne beads is a painstaking process involving several steps. First, a base must be made. It's the body on which the be painted. The body can be made of many kinds of metal, but copper is the most common--because of its malleable nature. For a bead, you need a body a bit smaller than the size bead you want.
Next, using a wire, form the shapes of the design you wish to put on the surface of the bead. Again, this wire can be made of any soft metal. Copper, silver and gold are the most common, are easy to work with and look the best. The thinner the wire, the smaller your bead will be when finished.
Rather than soldering, which can cause a discoloration of the enamel, the body is fired in a crucible with a thin layer of clear enamel. The wire is then attached to the body with gum Tragacanth. When the body is fired again, the wire fuses to the clear enamel and the gum Tragacanth burns off.
Next, fill the areas inside the wire shapes with colored enamel. After firing, the enamel will sink some, so the process must be repeated until the enamel is no longer below the wire. However, leaving some areas depressed can sometimes be an interesting effect.
Next, polish the piece. First polish it with emery, to make the piece smooth and the enamel perfectly level with the wire. After another firing, polish it again with a whet-stone. Then with hard carbon.
Finally, gild the piece to give the wire shapes a shine. Pieces made of fine silver may not need gilding.
Tags: , body fired, clear enamel, enamel will, wire shapes