2025 Spring
​Workshop Schedule

 Introduction to Cloisonne´
3-Days, Friday-Sunday
May 2-4, 2025
10 am-5 pm
$389
Class size: 4 students max
(only 2 spaces available)

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• Cloisonne´ Foundation Skills
• Enamel Science​ Principles 
• Day 3: practice, play, and explore

 Introduction to Cloisonne´
5-Days, Monday-Friday
April 7-11, 2025​
​10 am-5 pm
$689
Class size: 4 students max​

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• Cloisonne´ Foundation Skills
• Enamel Science​ Principles 
• Day 3-5: practice, play, explore, create

 Build Your Enamel Voice
​5-Days, Monday-Friday
May 12-16
​10 am-5 pm
$689
Class size: 4 students max​​

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• Cloisonne´ Foundation Skills
• Enamel Science​ Principles 
• Day 3-5: practice, play, explore, create

In-Person Workshops
in Ricky's Marietta, GA studio

About Studio Workshops

location
​

Hands-on learning and practice
Demonstrations
Feedback
Small Group with lots of individual attention
Pre-workshop video tutorials
Post workshop online Forum

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?

A NEW WORKSHOP to begin YOUR journey...
​Discover, Explore, and Embrace
Your Enamel Language

Colors, Wires, & Foils

Beyond the technical "How-to" Questions.
What else is possible?
What do I love?
How can I change & combine...?
What inspires and influences me?
How can I "Make it Mine"?

"your teaching method was transformative for me as both an enamel technician and an artist"
-Candie P
If you are new to my style of teaching, please take the time to read "Candie's Story".

Candie's Story

The PAF Basics
Here is what I do when I am enameling...
Prepare
Apply
Fire

Prepare
Prepare Enamel
Prepare Metal
Prepare Foil
Prepare Wires

Apply
Apply Enamel to Metal
Apply Enamel to Enamel
Apply Foil to Enamel
Apply Enamel to Foil
Apply Wires to Enamel

Fire
Fire Enamel to Metal
Fire Enamel to Enamel
Fire Foil to Enamel
Fire Enamel to Foil
Fire Wires to Enamel