by Carol M

Here are some samples of my first attempts at Plique-a-jour enamelling technique (French for “letting in daylight”).

After piercing a design in fine silver, I applied translucent enamel. The first firing I used a piece of mica to prevent the enamel from dropping through, subsequent firings I relied on surface tension placing the piece on trivets. To obtain clarity with no air bubbles only small thin amounts of enamel can be added at a time so a pretty time consuming technique.

After the gaps had been filled I removed any surplus enamel from areas on the silver, and also managed to remove large chunks from 3 of my nails and some skin without noticing! Not sure if I was concentrating hard or it was as it was under cold running water that I did not notice. Lastly one more firing to make the filed glass shiny once more.

The biggest lesson I learnt was to protect my fingers when cleaning up! I also think the areas of enamel to silver need to be larger to give a better effect, and perhaps better washing of the enamels would give a clearer effect.

Having a go was the best lesson.