Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

Sometimes an artist needs to evaluate the what and why of their art.  That's what I've been doing lately.  Learning and doing should bring me joy.  That joy comes through in my creations and when there is no joy perhaps I should try something else.  That little voice in my head questions me and asks  "Have you practiced enough and do you understand the process?  Should you try one more time to improve your skill and see if  you find joy?"   So I take another class or watch another video and try again!   Sometimes that works and sometimes not.  This year I took a class with Susan Lenart Kasmer at Art Unraveled - a little different technique and using liquid enamels.   Susan's classes are always enjoyable as I love her art, jewelry and her outgoing personality.  She is a good teacher but this time I was frustrated with my progress and my project.  Usually I have a  lot of things to show from t...

The After Practice Piece  -  Improving Last week I shared making the piece to enamel from ArtClay Copper.  This week is about the actual process of enameling.  If you are interested in using the enameling techniques, I highly recommend Pam East’s DVD’s.  Last week’s post has the links. I looked forward to this part as I remembered how much fun it was to blend the enamel colors in Pam’s class.  Three pair of earrings are ready to be cleaned in PreEnamel to remove any oil or fingerprints.  I started do this at my work station and ended up at the sink because the water needed to be hot.  After scrubbing and rinsing until the water sheeted off the metal instead of beading, I was ready to counter enamel. That just means putting enamel on the back of the piece so that there will have equal amount of stress when the enamel is placed on the front and the enamel will not crack.  The earring on the left shows the counter-enamel The ...