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knivesandroses In reply to doramandragora [2011-02-23 03:48:19 +0000 UTC]

Thank you very much. I have tried for about 10 years now to do better and better. Thanks again for dropping me a note. Smitty

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knivesandroses In reply to myfavetypeoftrouble [2009-09-12 13:46:51 +0000 UTC]

Thank you... I would like to have time before the end of the year to do at least one more rose. I need to be two of me to get everything going.... Smitty

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knivesandroses In reply to Shedara [2009-09-12 14:24:43 +0000 UTC]

Dear Shedara,
Thanks for writing. I have been overwhelmed by the number of responses to the work. The sizes are the same as a long stem rose from the florist shop. In fact, many times I go into town and bring one back to look at while I work on the metal one. Yes, the smaller ones are harder as the metal doesn't like to conform so tightly. Depending on where you are, there may be enameling classes available. I, myself, am in rural Illinois far from the comraderie of fellow enamelists. Just my dog Cupcake for company. Stay in touch as you might like and I will be glad to answer back any time. Smitty

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knivesandroses In reply to MicheleCobb [2009-07-03 04:37:20 +0000 UTC]

Michele,
It is somewhat of a nail-biting time when it comes to the enameling and assembly. The easiest way I have found is to make all parts and stack them in place on top of each other. Then, take them apart. I begin anew with the center and enamel it first. As you no doubt know, enamel will bridge from one piece to the next if they lay too closely. That is an issue. Before firing and after sifting, I use a toothpick or very thin flat, narrow piece of shimstock to slip between the petals that lay very closely and have enamel bridging between them to remove the bridged enamel. After firing, I place the next course over the fired course and reshape it to fit around the fired enamel. Then, things get tricky. One has to leave enough room to allow for the thickness of the enamel that will be applied. I have used bicycle inner tube pieces cut like a gasket. They function like a spacer. I have cut them like a daisy which allows the spacer to lay up between the courses. Take the adjusted course away and fire it. Repeat the process working through each course.

When assembling the piece with all its courses, I found it helpful to make little spacers (like washers) cut from very thin cork sheet (auto parts store) or use a synthetic gasket material to place between each course of glass. Thin is essential, easier to hide. I have used a very small amount of adhesive applied with a toothpick to help secure everything. A slow cure
epoxy gives a person time to adjust and take things apart if .....happens. And it does. Things show which no self-respecting rose would admit to wearing. Also, you can imagine my surprise when I cranked everything tight the first time I managed to make an enameled assembly and heard a sound like a piece of ice when it is stepped on, on the kitchen floor....arrgh! The whole thing is screwed together and nutted tight. The gasket material really helps cushion the layers. The adhesive holds things tight enough without having to crank the assembly down blacksmith tight.

Still, it takes me as long to enamel and assemble as it does to build the darn things to begin with.

I made knives including my own steel for a very long time. I did blacksmithing before that. And I butchered and ground large pieces of steel when I worked in the shipyard in Newport News, Va., way long ago. So, it has seemed to be a progression from the brutal and course through to the refined,even delicate. Metal and I get along one way or another. Truth be told,I love the roses. And, I am hooked on enamel.

Have you ever heard of Averill Shepps? She has been my mentor from the first and has become a dear friend.....also knows what is a good red wine. I think her website is enamelist.com If you care to, take a good look at the subtle deep beauty of her work. I will not live long enough to develop the grace she shows in her work. It is as if she dances with the enamel and it is her willing partner. One of these times, if we correspond further, I will recount how she got into enameling in the first place. It is interesting in that it shows the times she lived in when she was young, and how much things have changed.

Well, this has been fun. E>Mail me if you care to do so. I am sure I would enjoy the conversation with another enamelist. Smitty

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MicheleCobb In reply to knivesandroses [2009-07-03 09:11:31 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much for taking the time with this in-depth reply. I'm not sure that I entirely understand your assembly process still as it's hard to visualise what you are talking about. It all sounds very fiddly and nerve wracking. All I can say is that the finished result is definitely worth the worry you must go through of hearing that crack. The roses are very realistic and truly beautiful. You should be very proud of your achievement with them.

I had a look at Averill Shepps website and understand what you mean regarding her grace and I would say that she is very brave with her approach to spontanaeity. Her work is lovely. I have a lot of sheet copper (approx. 0.5mm thick) that has sat in my workshop for some time waiting for me to do some painting enamel. I feel quite inspired to play a little. Unfortunately I would have to do small pieces that fit together as my kiln is very small and I don't have the funds for a bigger one. As you may have seen in my gallery I have always focused on jewellery as that is what I was trained in (a diamond mounter). It has many restraints that can get in the way of my creativity so perhaps bigger and more free is one way forward for me.......who knows, we'll see.

Again, thankyou so much for your reply and I look forward to keeping in touch.

Michele

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knivesandroses In reply to MicheleCobb [2009-07-03 13:14:38 +0000 UTC]

Good Morning,
Having a good cup of coffee right now. Later to head out and do some enameling.

You are right. It is fiddly, and nerve wracking at times. It may be helpful to keep in mind that I build from the center outward, a course of petals at a time. I just remembered that it was very helpful when I started to have purchased a "silk" rose which I disassembled and used more or less as a guide. I had to adapt the shapes to some extent also. I learned to find a way to screw the whole assembly together. In order to form each course, it was helpful to drill and tap threads into the end of a steel rod whose end was not larger in diameter than the "hip" that the rose assembly is screwed onto. [That also drilled and tapped for screw sizes from 6 to 10 depending on size of hip and rose.

Writing about it is cumbersome. I ought to make clear that I have fiddled around with this for, I think, at least 6 years to have evolved the "scratch my head and pat my tummy" approach. So, there are likely better ways. But, I am mostly self-taught in all aspects of metalwork, having had to rely on workshops and seminars.

You make an interesting observation about planning and control in opposition to spontaneity. Averill is very spontaneous. Yet, I have seen that spontaneity come crashing down in something that just didn't look good...

I have worked for very many years on knives, in which spontaneity has not much of a place and leads to unsuccessful work.

I started to work on the heart shapes as practice pieces which might have some kind of value in place of practicing on scraps and heaping them up here and there. What I have discovered is that they are like little canvases. I lay out several enamels, grab some blanks, and use those colors to enamel a number of forms. It has really helped me to loosen up, try enamel combinations, be more spontaneous..... much needed.

Other people have for years told me I ought to loosen up. I could not get my head wrapped around how "loosen up" might actually be expressed until a friend told me not to even think about what I might do -next- until I got finished with what I am doing -now-. That was for me one of those Ah Hah! moments. Has really been helpful in rebuilding some spontaneity. knives require total control through each planned step....or they don't work very well.

Recently, I met Averill at Thompson Enamel near Cincinnati to work together using their large scale furnace. Working large was liberating. But, working small can be.

Never made acquaintance with a diamond setter. Sounds like it could be nerve wracking work work indeed. Ever drop one on the floor to hide among the nooks and crannies?

Well, have fun at any rate. Stay in touch. Smith

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MicheleCobb In reply to knivesandroses [2009-07-03 21:47:47 +0000 UTC]

I think I have the same problem with being too 'tight' and not spontaneous enough. I get over technical very easily and make things hard for myself.

I ought to point out that my training as a diamond mounter was not the same as for a setter. I made the structures and settings that the diamonds were mounted into. The work was then passed on to someone else to actually set the stones. That's another skill entirely and one that I've never learnt.

I think I told you that I made a sweet-pea hat pin for my sister years ago. This was destroyed in a tragic house fire in my sisters old house (a pub in Cornwall). You've inspired me, with your roses, to maybe have a go a replacing it for her and making a better job of it this time....? Hmmm, lacking courage a little bit as it's been a long time but we'll see.

Your moon wall piece is STUNNING by the way......I'll comment on it separately on it's page.

Cheers
Michele

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knivesandroses In reply to MicheleCobb [2009-07-06 23:10:55 +0000 UTC]

You know, I never thought of the difference between one who would build the mounting, and one who actually set the stone. Thank you for the info.

Being too tight is, as you know, an asset in some pursuits. Of course, the opposite is true too. You did tell me that you constructed a sweet-pea pin. I did not know that fire destroyed it. If, indeed, you have a go at a new piece, let me know how it progresses.

I have watched the moon for all of my life from when I was just small, never losing the attraction to it. To have done this piece was a breakthrough. I am drawn toward challenges in my metal work. So, I seldom do the same work over. The small pieces I use to learn on, like the hearts. Well, take care, and stay in touch. Hope your summer goes well. Smitty

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