Learn to Enamel
with Ricky Frank
Explore the Magical World of Cloisonne´
using Color, Layers, and Light

Cloisonne´ Jewelry

Hands-on learning and practice
Demonstrations
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Small Group with lots of individual attention
Pre-workshop video tutorials
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Explore Ricky's Jewelry

Enamel Confidence

Hundreds of video tutorials
Full-length classes
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​Ongoing

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What are Cloisonne´ Foundation Skills?

Instead of learning how to make a "project", students learn skills at the most basic level so that they can practice them without being afraid of making mistakes and "ruining" their results.
​ I like to think of these skills as my PAFF Skills: Prepare, Apply, Fire, and Finish

When I am enameling, I am always using one of these skills...

Prepare: my metal, enamel, wires, foil

Apply: enamel to metal, enamel to enamel, wires to enamel, foil to enamel, enamel to foil

Fire: enamel to metal, enamel to enamel, wires to enamel, foil to enamel, enamel to foil

Finish: techniques to grind, polish, or fire the enamel surface to complete the enamel

​Our workshops help you understand
Enamel Science
Why Science? When you use heat to bond two materials, there is chemistry and physics involved.
Understanding the WHY helps you figure out the WHAT, WHEN,  and HOW questions.

Are there Principles involved? ​​​

• A PRINCPLE is like a "law of nature". It's what the materials want to do.
• When you know that a Principle is involved, you adapt your process to take it into account.
• You succeed when you work with the Principle, not against it. Knowing the Principles helps you solve your problems.
• Example: Transparent layer thickness: the thicker the layer, the less transparent it is

 Know the Principles and Control the Variables.
To understand and apply enamel science, we ask two questions ​...

What are the Variables involved?

• A VARIABLE is anything that you can change that will give you a different result.
• Applying enamel science is learning to ask and answer the question "What does it depend on"? Which variables are affecting your results?
• Time & Temperature are both "firing variables. When you change one, you need to change the other.
• Variables include types of metal, type of enamel, thickness, of enamel, etc.

Enamel Science
​helps you ask and answer questions like these...

How hot and how long do I heat this piece?
Do I need enamel on the back of the piece? Why or why not?
How thick or thin do I apply the enamel?
Can I mix these two colors together?
Why did the pink enamel turn orange?
How can I keep from over-firing my pieces?
Why did "that" happen?