Your Cloisonne´ Vision and Voice

below is a placeholder for  Ricky's Welcome video

Join me on an 8-Week
Creative Enamel Adventure!
It's not an online video class.
It's a small group "mentoring" experience.

Apply Today

Here's a video peek into the virtual classroom.

A big question: How do I move "beyond technique"?

I share my techniques from the  "inside-out"

Discover and Explore Your  Enamel Vision and Voice.

This has been the most challenging part of my enameling career.
I used to...

• try be "perfect".
• struggle to allow myself time to play.
  
•  think that there was a "right answer".
  
• want someone to show me the "right way".
•  believe that I didn't have a meaningful "story" to tell.
• collect more techniques so that I would "improve".
  
• feel like I must always be making something that I "liked".
• stay safely in my comfort zone.
• be unaware of WHY I wanted to create.

Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart.
Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.
—CARL JUNG

MY Artistic Enamel Vision and Voice:

• A connection with myself, to others, and to my world empowers me to know what I want to say.
• Creativity is the result of my questions, not someone else's answers.
• Asking technique questions does not often lead me to artistic answers.
• Becoming fluent (my skills and visual imagery) enables me to speak from my heart instead of my head.
• Developing fluency is a process that requires practice, focus, and commitment.
• Knowing WHY I care inspires me to persevere in hard times.
• I  must trust myself.
• This is a journey, not a destination. I am in a process of changing myself as I change what I create.

It's difficult to connect
when you are the  audience.

Which do you think is more helpful?
1. Watch and listen to me tell you how to do it and then you try to follow my directions.
or
2. Watch, listen, do it, and then have a "live" conversation about it ?

What were your challenges?
What were your questions?
What did you discover?
How might you do it next time?

Connecting to others who are facing similar challenges
helps you feel connected to yourself.

My classes and programs are not for everyone. It depends what you want.

The Performer
Follow directions and do it the "Right Way"

The Explorer
​Play and discover what is possible

Many craft classes take this approach:

The instructor...

• demonstrates projects
• Gives you the "right" answers
• helps you make something that you will like


• shows you how to use your tools
• shares what they know about the materials
• passes along their tips and tricks
• helps you find the "right way" to do it
• provides a range of projects for you to make
• shows you a better way
• helps you make something that you will like

When you return to your studio, you try to remember what you did so that you can
make something that you like once again.

I take a different approach:

You...

• explore many questions to help you discover possible answers
• explore your relationship with your tools
• play with your materials to see what they can do
• think about "what it depends on" so that you can solver problems on your own
• understand the science so you follow principles and not rules
• develop technical and creative skills to empower you to make YOUR artwork

When you return to your studio, you are not afraid to play and experiment to discover what you like.
You don't feel afraid of failing because you understand how to teach yourself to learn, improve, and create.

Should I study with Ricky Frank?
Yes or No?

There is not a right way.
But different approaches get you different results.
What do YOU want?

Yes,
Ricky's classes are for you if....

• you want to explore your creative process
  
• you want to learn something about yourself
• your are open to change and re-invention
• you are willing to try to "play" and "experiment"
• you can allow yourself to risk failing
• you want to discover your inner child through enameling
• you can accept some chaos and uncertainty
• you want to make unique and personal enamel imagery
  

No,
Ricky's classes are NOT for you if....

• you want a teacher to give you all of the answers to your questions
• you believe that you need the right answers and right ways to do something
• you need to make something that you like in order to feel successful
• you are not willing to practice in order to improve your skills
• you need to feel that can get it "now"
• you just want the techniques
• you get too frustrated if you don't know where the piece is going
  
• you want to make enamel art that looks like the art of other enamel artists

Choose the Workshop that's right for you.
Step out of your comfort zone and take your enameling to the next level

The Introduction to
​Cloisonne´ Workshop

Learn the "baby steps";
​develop foundational skills and knowledge!

• Learn & apply the science that affects your enameling processes
• Create "canvas blanks" in copper and fine silver
•  Bend cloisonne´ wires: angles, curves, shapes, and patterns
• Prepare, apply, fire transparent, opaque, & opalescent color layers
• Control color "edges" and "gradations"
• Layer multiple colors to achieve magical effects
• Create an "inner glow" in your transparent enamel colors
• Use silver/gold foil to create "layers of light"; shapes & patterns
• Explore different "surface finishing" techniques

The Cloisonne´
​Vision & Voice Workshop

Make more meaningful and exciting enamels;
Build YOUR language and tell YOUR stories!

• Make lots of different types of Marks
• Find Design Elements around you: lines, shapes, pattern, value, color
• ​Become comfortable changing and combining elements
• Build a personal language of enamel layers, wires, and foil elements
• Become FLUENT with your enamel marks so that you can improvise
• ​Translate Design elements into enamel marks
• Discover stories in the simple "sparks" of your life
• Improve your technical skills while exploring design & story ideas
• Transform your inspirational "sparks" into  enamel images​

Here is what some of my students are saying...

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Ricky, although I had been enameling several years my work did not take direction and focus until I came to Atlanta and took a class from you.  The things  I learned in those three days were profound and was exactly what I needed to take my work to another level.  

Gina Eubanks

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\When I first started watching your videos, I kept thinking why is he asking "why" all the time?  Well, you have me hooked.  I'm finding myself thinking about "why and why not" all the time now, and all the possibilities that asking that leads to

Margaret Garza

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As Simon Sinek covers in his book, Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Action, knowing your "why" is critically important in life. It is this focus that Ricky Frank employs to help artists/enamelists understand why they are doing something. He then guides students to build on their "why" as they execute their "what" (jewelry/vessel/wall piece) and "how" (enamel & metal techniques).

Cullen Hackler

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I like that you have taken time before presenting the technical aspects of enameling, to discuss the mental/emotional landscape of the artistic process.  I have taken other art classes, and have never had another teacher walk me through this.  That, in itself, is just priceless to me.

Mary Caldwell

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He talks about the process of learning, the process of mastery, the process of letting the artist inside you "emerge."  He's a mentor of the best kind.  He teaches, but isn't pedantic about it.  His approach is  "Here's what I know, what I do and how I do it, but it was a process for me and it'll be a process for you."    He teaches you how to answer your own questions.  Every lesson isn't just instructional, it's inspiring, liberating and empowering.  I'm an engineer, not an artist, and, being me, I started out looking for answers, knowledge, details, details, how-to, how-to.  Ricky has given me mountains of that, but probably the most valuable thing I've gained is that now when I sit down at my bench I'm not worried about producing something "good," or the value of my time or the value of my materials or whether I'm meeting some goal.
I'm in the process of becoming an enamelist and Ricky brilliantly enables that process.

Trish Morman

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Students make enamels that are unique, personal, and fun!
Their pieces that come from the heart.
We begin learning the basics: enamel color layers, cloisonne´ wire design, and silver/gold foil.
Early in each workshop, students are encouraged to begin a process of changing their questions from "How-to?" to "What If?" and design  "enamel studies" to explore their new and personal questions. 
​Focus on the process and not the product.
Make MORE instead of GOOD.
Give yourself permission to make a mess.

Firing with Confidence: Trusting the Process and the Kiln/Torch

The firing stage can feel intimidating, but with guided practice, you’ll develop the confidence to trust the process. You’ll learn how to read the kiln, recognize when your enamel has reached the perfect molten state, and make informed decisions about firing times and temperatures.

Through experience, you’ll become comfortable handling red-hot metal, adjusting for unexpected results, and using firing as a creative tool rather than a source of stress. The more you fire, the more you’ll understand how heat transforms your materials—allowing you to embrace the excitement of the kiln rather than fear it.

Master the Fundamentals: Preparing, Applying, and Firing Enamel

Mastering the art of enameling begins with building a strong foundation in essential techniques. In our classes, you’ll learn how to prepare your metal, apply enamel in precise layers, and fire your pieces to achieve the perfect fusion of glass and metal. You'll experiment with different materials, from transparent and opaque enamels to fine silver and gold foils that create layers of reflected light. Through hands-on practice, you'll discover how to use enamel color layers for depth, wires for intricate lines and patterns, and various techniques to bring your designs to life.

"Discover Your Unique Enamel Voice Through Play and Exploration

When students feel permission to play, they experience freedom, curiosity, and joy in their creative process. The fear of failure fades, replaced by a willingness to take risks and embrace the unknown. Without pressure to "get it right," they experiment, make unexpected discoveries, and develop a personal connection to their work. Instead of replicating techniques, they ask "What if?"—exploring changes in firing, layering, or materials. This curiosity leads to meaningful discoveries and, over time, the emergence of their unique enamel voice. Through trial, reflection, and exploration, they cultivate confidence, resilience, and an artistic identity shaped by their own experiences and creative spirit.

How?

Zoom Connections:
Engage and Connect with Questions, Demonstrations, and Exercises.
Make new friends and inspire each other.

Course Lessons: Technique and Artistic
A combination of  Video, Articles, and Exercises

Group Critiques & Discussion
Use our space to share, connect, challenge,
 inspire. and question.

My WHY

Ricky approaches enameling as both an art and a science​, guiding students to understand not just how to enamel, but why different techniques work. He teaches that enameling is a dynamic interaction between heat, metal, and glass, where scientific principles—such as expansion, contraction, and chemical reactions—play a crucial role. By mastering these fundamentals, students gain the ability to troubleshoot and adapt, rather than simply follow step-by-step instructions. His approach bridges the gap between technical skills and creative problem-solving, ensuring that students develop a deeper, more intuitive connection to their craft.
​
But Ricky’s true lesson extends beyond technique—he challenges students to shift their mindset from performer to explorer. Instead of seeking predictable results and fearing mistakes, he encourages curiosity, experimentation, and discovery. By embracing the unknown and asking “What does it depend on?” rather than “What is the right answer?” students cultivate confidence in their ability to figure things out. This shift not only transforms their enameling practice but also empowers them to approach their creative journey with freedom, resilience, and joy.
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Some of my enamel jewelry from over 47 years
What do you think my questions were?
What was I trying to explore?
Why did I care?
What did I need to "teach myself" in order to make these pieces?