The Creative Cloisonne´ Class	The Creative Cloisonne´ Bundle
One Class: Price: $399 (one payment)	All Three Classes: Price: $949 (one payment)
Breaks: N/A	Breaks in between Classes Start Dates
3 payments of $135	4 payments: $239
includes 3 Month Membership (Zooms & Forum)	includes 12 Month Membership (Zooms & Forum)
Extend Membership: $25/month	Extend Membership: $25/month
Each Class is divided into Modules & Lessons. Everything is available from the beginning of the "Start Date". No more dipped content.	Each Class is divided into Modules & Lessons. Everything is available from the beginning of the "Start Date". No more dipped content.
All Creative Cloisonne´ Classes include... Introduction to Cloisonne´ Class Enamel Science Class Transparent Color Sample Class, and more	The Creative Cloisonne´ Bundle includes... Introduction to Cloisonne´ Class Enamel Science Class Transparent Color Sample Class, and more
Group Forum (on Enamel Nation community)	Group Forum (on Enamel Nation community)
6 weeks of Coaching with Ricky when beginning at the Start Date	18 weeks of Coaching with Ricky when beginning at the Start Date
Limited email support for 6 weeks	Limited email support for 6 months
7 Zoom Meetings (live and available as recordings)	21 Zoom Meetings (live and available as recordings)
Class content available for 3 months	Class content available for 12 months

My WHY

"I am fascinated with how light passes through our environment; sunlight through the trees in the forest, light behind the clouds in the sky, and light bouncing off the surface of the ocean or lake, or through the various large and small waterfalls of a stream or river. I feel a sense of awe when I experience these phenomena. I spent 8 weeks each summer from the age of 10-15 at a YMCA camp in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. The natural beauty that surrounded me each day left an impression that still resonates within.
Now my family prefers the beach to the mountains. I love both!

Enamel seems like a perfect media for me: I can capture the light through the layers, and the combination of art and science plays perfectly into the different parts of my experience. It's not just problem-solving; it's creativity and expression.
It's my story, expressed in enamel, that I choose to share. I work to develop my skills, both technical and aesthetic, so that I can share my sense of "awe" with others as I use my enamel vocabulary to sing my enamel song to share my enamel vision.

 Who?

​Choose the Level that's right for you.
​*For mentoring classes only.

The "Novice" Level

• you have some experience with enamel
•  your skills and knowledge of enamel colors is limited
• you struggle to make anything that you like
• you are ready to take the next step in your enamel education
• you want some "how-to" guidance
• you want to discover your "inner artist"
• you are open to making changes
• you want more from your enameling, but don't know what that is

The "Apprentice" Level

• you have taken some workshops and have some experience and skills
• you have some skill muscle-memory and are familiar with your enamel colors
• you've made some pieces that you love
• you are ready to move to the next level but might feel stuck
• you are able to learn in workshops but when you are alone in your studio you don't know what to do
• you believe that you have something to say but don't know how to do this with enamel

Should I study with Ricky Frank?
Yes or No?

Yes,
Ricky's workshops 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 workshops 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 you are going
• you want to make enamel art that looks like the art of other enamel artists

I've found that letting go of a "right way" approach helps me feel more playful, creative, and inspired.
What do YOU want?

I take a different approach:

I encourage you to...

• 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 create.

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

Many craft classes take this approach:

The instructor...

• tries to answer all of your questions
• 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.

Here is what I've learned as I've searched for
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.

What keeps me from finding my enamel Vision and Voice?

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

In The Creative Color Class, you will learn to "design experiments to answer your questions".

​Learn to create "Personal Tutorials"
Here is how I "teach myself" to make a new enamel series.

1. Search for and choose your inspiration.

2. De-construct it into small visual pieces (design elements).

3. Learn and apply new enamel skills to translate your design elements into enamel elements.

4. Create tutorials to teach myself "what I need to know or improve".

5. Connect with your inspiration and re-assemble your "enamel elements" into the beginning of your vision. 

6. Fix it until you find your "happy dance".

7. Create a series to explore possible creative, expressive, and design variations.

You will learn a PROCESS, not a project.
You can learn how to combine Creative Enamel Color and Inspiration
​to find your Enamel Happy Dance.

He teaches you to slow down and consider what you might be doing wrong, and then make improvements in incremental steps based on a careful examination of what you have created and the image that inspired you, if appropriate.  He is also teaching us to create tutorials that help define what you want to learn and create.  I cannot say I have found my vision, but now I have a better idea of how to find it.
-Sara P

 What
 will you  do in Creative Cloisonne´ Colors?

Experiment
to understand Variables
to develop Control

Play
to learn what is Possible
to learn what you Like

Translate
to imagine  what you SEE as an enamel image
to turn your ideas and dreams into enamel reality

Each week we have assignments that include experimenting, playing, and translating.
The assignments are flexible and designed to challenge you to ask and answer YOUR questions, not mine.

Why is enameling so challenging and sometimes frustrating?

Your are using HEAT to bond two materials: metal and glass. Heat can be scary.

The firing process changes both the enamel and the metal; physics & chemistry

So many colors, manufacturer brands, and firing temperatures

So many technical questions along with the artistic questions makes it easy to become confused.

Teachers and books often tell you the "right way" but present conflicting information and methods.

There can be many steps to remember. Sometimes just one small mistake causes a big problem later in the process.

Many materials, tools, techniques, and skills to explore. And distract you.

Many of us don't have TIME and want shortcuts. It takes repetition and perseverance.

There are many variables to consider. One of the big questions to ask oneself is "What does it depend on?". And that isn't always an easy question to answer.

This is a lot to consider? No wonder it can be confusing and overwhelming.

Do you want to play with amazing color?
Enameling combines glass and metal to create magical "colored light"!

Creativity + Enameling = Creative Enameling

I've been captivated by this incredible art form for over 44 years.
I show you "How I do it"
but more importantly,
I guide you as you find YOUR way!

What is "Creative Enameling"?

I taught myself to become a more creative and expressive enamel artist.
You can too!

Instead of

• searching for the "right way", students discover "many possible ways".
•  trying to find the "right answer", students search for "more questions".
• copying the teacher, students learn to design experiments to answer their own questions
• "learning to enamel", students use enameling
  as a "way to learn about themselves, their world, and their art".
  

Why is "Creative Enameling" so important to me?

Early in my enameling career, I reached a point where I felt stuck.
My enameling skills were "good enough", but I was missing something.
I didn't know what it was; I just knew that I didn't feel connected to what I was making.
I "retired" and pursued a Masters degree in Psychology in search of a new career
that might combine my different interests.

Creativity
Art Therapy
Sport Psychology
Peak Performance
Personal Growth
Self-Awareness

Meditation
Self-Expression
Design
Enameling
Jewelry
Human Learning & Memory

After completing my degree, I returned to making enamel jewelry and re-discovered my artistic passion.
But this time I had a completely unique approach and a fresh point of view.

I began to combine everything that I had learned.
A new process emerged.
New artwork emerged.
I felt a connection to what I was making.

My enamels started to
"come from my heart"!

I am your guide and coach.
Here is how I do it.

Let my experience
be your guide...

• 44 years making/selling my enamel jewelry
• Workshops/presentations at
  
• The Enamelist Society Conferences
  
• Workshops at craft schools across the USA
• Exhibitor at top craft shows: Smithsonian, Phil. Museum of Art, ACC
• Rio Grande and Youtube instructor
• Creator of the enamelchannel.com

read more about Ricky

Here is what I will do as your coach...

• explain/demonstrate the enamel science and skill relationships.
• help you ask more and different questions
• point out what you are not seeing
• celebrate your small successes
• nurture your creative mindset
• embrace your personal narratives
• challenge you to set more challenging goals while focusing on your mini-goals
• support you as you make the mistakes necessary to change and grow
• become your biggest cheerleader and help you become your biggest cheerleader.

This is not a "project" course.
Instead of making "projects like mine", you will create assignments that help you learn and internalize the many different skills necessary to design, create, edit, and refine YOUR cloisonne´ enamel imagery.

Students will...

• develop skills and understanding.
•  learn to problem-solve.
  
•  learn to "think in cloisonne´": Imagine using wires, color, and foils.
• Practice skills to develop "muscle memory".

"If you want someone to teach you how to make a “souvenir” project, take a class from someone else who teaches that way. If you want to learn the details of enamel work (and are willing to put in effort on your own),  then this may be the class for you. If you want to develop your own style and artistic voice (and you already know some enameling basics),  then this is definitely the class for you.
- Bill O

Trust yourself
Give yourself permission to play, explore, & discover

The Creative Cloisonne´ Program...as unique as you are1

It's more than new techniques, tools, and materials.
You will discover a freedom that unlock a "rule-oriented" way of thinking
and encourages you to play.
​
Embrace your childlike wonder of  "What if...?" questions
​applied to the magic of cloisonne´ enameling.
It's the feeling that anything is possible.

Being given permission to play was the greatest gift that anyone ever gave me in my own work.
It released me from having to make “something”, and allowed me to try ideas without strict plans for the outcome. Your teaching to continually ask questions, not only about technique, but also about the why’s and what was I thinking about, or seeing has also extended that permission to play. Play is the essence of create thought, I think now. It’s always a new question of “what if...” -Melissa

FAQ

Do I need a kiln?

No, you can use a torch or a kiln. A kiln will probably be easier and may give you more control. Video tutorials will use both!

What type of enamel will we use?

You can use either leaded or unleaded enamel. I often use unleaded enamel as a base coat when enameling on copper, and I always use unleaded enamel on the back as my counter enamel. I use leaded enamels for all of my colors. I've found that students who use unleaded enamels encounter more problems. I think that it's an easier learning curve when using leaded enamels and there are more enamel choices available.

What Tools, supplies, & materials will I need?

You will need a...

• Heat source for firing your enamels: kiln or torch.
  
• Metals: Copper and/or fine silver
• Enamel colors: opaque, transparent, and opalescent white
• Silver and Gold Foil (many students are afraid of the cost of the gold foil. I use it often under transparent reds & oranges)
  
• Assorted small tools & supplies (see Supply List)
  

Do I need to attend the Zoom Meetings? What if I cannot attend one?

Zoom Meetings are optional. Each one is recorded and available for replay

Are there projects that we will make?

Projects as not a part of the curriculum. You will learn skills (enameling and thinking skills). I may make a "piece" to demonstrate specific skills and techniques and you can copy what I have made, but students are encouraged to take the demonstration and "make it your own". There will be assignments that require you to ask yourself questions and design exercises to help answer your questions.

What is the Group Forum?

Throughout the class, and afterwards, you have the opportunity to share with Ricky and other students. We share questions, possible answers, ideas, resources, assignments, frustrations, and more. I prefer not to use Facebook, and my online community of choice is the Enamel Nation, which I created as a Facebook alternative for enamel artists and students. You will be invited to join a private Group just for our class, as well as a private Group for all former and current Creative Enamel students.

What do I do if I am stuck and cannot figure out something?

You have several options.

• You can ask a question during our live Zoom Meetings.
  
• You can post pictures and ask questions on our Group Forum.
  
• I prefer not to offer advice via email as I prefer that all students can learn from the challenges that you are experiencing.
  
• Occasionally, in an emergency, you can call me and I will help you brainstorm possible questions and answers.
  

I want the answer... Why won't you just tell me what it is? Why do you make us "think about it"?

In enameling, there is rarely one right answer. And there is never one right way to do something. Because we are combining metal, enamel, and heat, there are many possible variables to consider when dealing with any task. There is the Science (what the materials want to do) and the Art
(what I want it to look like), and one of our challenges is to understand how to balance this. We learn to apply principles (both scientific and design) to help us answer our questions. And the ONE right answer is always "It Depends". The task of the enamel artist almost always involves asking oneself "What does it depend on?". If you cannot stand the UNCERTAINTY (and resulting confusing/frustration) when dealing with this question, you might consider a different media. Enameling may not be for you! I am not being mean, simply real.
And because there are so many possible variables and I have not watched every step of your process, I do not always know the answer to your questions. Enameling can be a very humbling experience!

All Creative Cloisonne Classes include...
Introduction to Cloisonne´ Enameling

Cloisonne´ does not need to be complicated or finicky

Lesson include...

• Learn Enameling and Cloisonne´step by step basics
  
• Create both a copper and fine silver "blank canvas"
• Bend, Apply, & Fire your wires in place
• Create Color Gradations
• Grind & Polish the enamel surface

This is based upon the  Introductory Two-Day Class that I have taught for over 20 years.

• Apply enamel science to create consistent results
• Tips & Tricks
• Develop Confidence
• Remove the fear & mystery of this technique
  
• You don't need to be "perfect"
  
• Learn about transparent & opalescent enamel colors

• Simple and easy steps to follow
• Learn the Science of Enamel, Metal, & Heat
• Copy my designs, change them, or make your own
• Fast & Fun; it doesn't need to be perfect

This is a different type of craft class!
I have created an exciting & unique approach to craft education.

My background

I had NO art experience when I first started to enamel after graduating from college. Though I've taken a few classes in a career spanning over 6 decades, I am mostly self-taught. I show you what has worked for me as I've struggled and succeeded to become a cloisonne´ artist.

I am a coach

Creativity is a form of "Peak Performance". I have extensive experience as a soccer coach and training (a Master's degree in Psychology) as a sport psychologist. I've applied methods, exercises, and concepts that work well in Performance Psychology to teaching myself the many skills necessary to make cloisonne´ artwork. We are learning  skills that need to be practiced to become habits. And we improve by challenging ourselves to gently step outside of our comfort zones. This is the same approach that experts and masters in any field learns and improves their skills.

combine Technical Enamel skills with Cognitive (thinking) skills

Techniques and Science are important. But is it "enough"? What will you do with it? And how do you know when you are "good enough"?
I understand the value of knowing how to "Think in Enamel" and will help you develop "inner game" skills.  These will help you be more Creative, understand and apply Design concepts, and feel connected to what you make as you practice expressing yourself.

Combine Enameling with the 5 C's of Creativity

Practice the 5 C's of Creativity as you learn and improve your enameling skills.

1. Collect: Gather ideas, images, and questions
   
2. Crop: Deconstruct to simplify your tasks and questions
3. Change: Use "What If...?" questions to help you look for more, new, and different
4. Combine: Put together images, ideas, materials, and steps to find a fresh approach to your process and your artwork
5. Connect: Enter into conversations with your world, your artwork, and yourself as you discover your unique point of view

Learn how to teach yourself

I've created a unique approach to learning called "Personal Tutorials". Watching a teacher perform a task and then copying it is an important skill.  But that's not all that we do when we are learning to make our artwork. You cannot copy the different ways that your teacher experiences their world, their artwork, or themselves. Those all require different types of mindsets and questions. I will help you learn to create your own Personal Tutorials so that you can learn more holistically to succeed at different types of learning tasks:

1. Play: Let go of "good" and learn what is possible
2. Experiment: Develop control by exploring possible variables (the things that we can change that create different results)
3. Translate: Imagine our visual images (lines, shapes, patterns, color, value) as enamel elements. How can you make these?
4. Apply Design: Use Design Principles to organize your different visual and enamel elements so that you "like it more" or fix what you don't like
5. Express: Find ways to share your own unique point of view, passions, memories, and questions using your visual and enamel images

I make it Fun!

 I will encourage you to discover the childlike wonder that one feels when asking "What if..." Questions. And I will challenge you to DO it!
You will not be copying my projects, so there is no pressure to "get it right".

you will need to think (a lot!)

Many students are surprised how much thinking is required in my classes. It's not your typical "Teacher gives the students the right answers" type of experience. I am challenging you to not simply "Think More", but to "Think Differently". Most students are not used to this. It takes practice. But this is what is required if you want to make creative, personal, and interesting enamel artwork.

Develop a Cloisonne´ Vocabulary

You are learning a new language. We need to learn to speak using a new vocabulary. This includes visual design elements, like lines, shapes, patterns, values, and color. It also includes enamel design elements. Learning to "speak in cloisonne´" requires me to be able to TRANSLATE my visual design elements into enamel design elements. We will translate using different types of cloisonne´ wires, enamels colors, and silver/gold foils.

What is "Cloisonne´ Vocabulary"?

• Can I SEE design elements: lines, shapes, colors, value, & patterns?
• How can I TRANSLATE them into enamel design elements?
• How can I turn my visual vocabulary into enamel vocabulary?
• How can I use wires, enamel colors, and silver/gold foils to create my Cloisonne´ vocabulary?
• How can I become fluent in my new Cloisonne´ language?

Create personal Symbols, Icons, & Silhouettes to express your
artistic vision

Students will begin the process of collecting images that can be transformed into symbols, icons, and silhouettes.

Combining these personal elements with other lines, shapes, colors, values, and patterns can be a point of departure that leads you to imaginative and unique cloisonne´ imagery.

1. What can I SEE? Design elements (lines, shapes, values, colors, and patterns).
2. How can SIMPLIFY? Crop what I see into smaller pieces.
3. How can I CHANGE the elements? Ask "What if..?" questions to explore new, different, and possible.
4. How can I COMBINE the elements? Create new design elements and patterns.
5. How can I TRANSLATE the elements into ENAMEL? Imagine and make the elements using wire, enamel color, and foil.
6. How can I INTERNALIZE the new enamel elements? Create a personal enamel vocabulary and language
7. How can I create my own ICONS & SYMBOLS, translate them into enamel, and combine everything to express my unique point of view?
8. How can I LET GO of self-limiting thoughts/beliefs that keep me stuck?

Learn a simple approach to help you draw "well enough" to manifest what you imagine.

My approach is not for everyone!
If you...

• need me to always give you the right way or right answer
• think that I "know the right answer"
• want to make a project that looks like my artwork
• are not willing to take the time to think about many different possibilities
• need to always try to make something "pretty"
  
• don't want to be challenged to think outside of you "box"
  

You should find a different teacher.
You will feel frustrated with me!

The 3 main components to
The Creative Cloisonne´ Program.

Each class helps improve these different skill-sets.

Technical Cloisonne´ Skills

• Develop Skills with Materials & Tools
  
• Translate visual images into Cloisonne´ images
  
• Remember the Steps
  
• Apply the Science Principles
• Become aware of Possible Variables
• Combine Metal, Enamel, Wires, Foils
• Consider Surface Finishing
• Consider Settings/Presentation

Visual Thinking Skills

• Brainstorm New Ideas
• See Design Elements
• Imagine Visual Changes
• Translate Visual into Enamel
• Sketch "Thumbnail" Possibilities
• Consider Design Principles & Composition
• Notice Connections & Relationships
• Embrace your Unique Point of View
• Transform your experiences/memories/passions into images

The Skills of "Letting Go"

Let Go of what may be holding your back...

• Needing the Right Way or Right Answer
  
• Always judging Good or Bad
  
• Needing to like everything that you make
• Needing to feel Successful NOW
• Needing to be Certain "where it is going"
• Self-limiting Beliefs & Doubts

Let me guide you through a step-by-step approach that will help you discover your unique vision
and  translate it into your own personal cloisonne´ enamel imagery.

Combine all 3 classes...

The Creative Cloisonne´ Bundle

Are you ready to commit to advancing your cloisonne´ enamel artwork to the next level?
Instead of admiring your enamel heroes, become your own "cloisonne´ superhero"!

Register for the Creative Cloisonne´ Bundle

3 classes, 18 weeks of coaching
Two-week breaks in between each class
Begin with an inspiration
and turn it into a new body of work!
Make the artistic transformation
of your dreams.

Three different classes, designed to build the technical & artistic skills necessary
to help you explore and achieve your Cloisonne´ dreams.

Class #1
Create YOUR Cloisonne´ Vocabulary
Start Date: April 24-May 22
includes 6 weeks of coaching
Price: $399

• Begin your Creative Cloisonne´ Journey.
• Collect your personal visual images.
• Translate visual images into enamel images.
• Combine different types of wires
• Combine wires, enamel layers, & foils.
• Develop personal images: icons, silhouettes, and symbols
• Experiment & Play with different types of wires.
  

Class #2
Design using YOUR Cloisonne´ Vocabulary
Start Date: June 19-July 31
includes 6 weeks of coaching
Price: $399

• Combine & Organize your images
  
• Design principles such as contrast, variety, and balance.
  
• Formats: strata, grids, radial, horizontal, and more
  
• Solve composition challenges that often leave you stuck.
• Create "borders" using your new vocabulary
• Deep dive into "patterns"
  

Class #3
Storytelling with your
Cloisonne´ Vocabulary
Start Date: Aug. 14-Sept 18
includes 6 weeks of coaching
Price: $399

• Put it all together as you work towards the piece that "comes from your heart"
  
• Refine your personal images
• Combine enamel pieces
  
• Settings & gemstone possibilities
• Design a series to explore your ideas without needing to put it all in one piece
• Let your creative process flow as you develop YOUR personal images

Class # 1 Details

Register for Class #1

Class #2 Details

Register for Class #2

Class #3 Details

Register for Class #3

Lessons and Videos
that help you "make the technique your own"

One of the new video series in the Creative Cloisonne´ Program is "Draw with Wires", with more than 80 video tutorials. Preparing, bending, applying, and firing wires is a core task in the cloisonne´ process. These videos are not just about the "how-to"; they also challenge you to consider "how-to think about the wires" using different mindsets: Creative, Designing, and Expressing modes of thinking.

Check out a few sample clips!

I will challenge you to step out of your comfort zone. 
It's not easy to make a change. It can be frustrating. 

Candie's Story
How she struggled, survived, and finally thrived in The Creative Enamel Color Course.

​" I wanted to share with you my successes and struggles with that class and how your teaching method was transformative for me as both an enamel technician and an artist.

It wasn't always easy, or even pleasant to keep up with this class. I was a beginning enamellist with only a week-long class to my credit. I had a barely functioning studio; my setup was not optimal for hitting the ground running..."

Read about candie's story of change

Science

Techniques & Skills

Become familiar with the skills and steps

• Canvas
• Wires
• Foils
• Color Layers
• Finishing

Understand & apply principles, variables, and experiments

• Time/Temperature Relationships
• Chemical Reactions
• Transparency and Color Layers
• Metal Reflectivity
• Counter-Enameling

Your Enamel Voice

Your Enamel Vision

How you "speak" in enamel

• Lines
• Shapes
• Paterns
• Color
• Value

What you "say" with enamel

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

In-Person Workshops​
Ricky's Home/Studio 
in Marietta, GA

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

Learn More

Ricky's Video Library
The Enamel Channel
​Video Library

Hundreds of video tutorials
Full-length classes
Memberships (annual or monthly)
Several Free Tutorials
Free 7-Day Trial
​Ongoing

The Enamel Channel

New for Spring, 2025
In-Person Workshops
in Ricky's Marietta, GA studio

 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)

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

Learn More

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

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

learn more

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

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

My Teaching Approach
Inside/Out Enameling

I emphasizes Process over Product.
Learning to think and solve problems is more important than copying a project.

Enameling Techniques 
Students become familiar with basic skills and techniques.
Break down the techniques into steps;
Break down the steps into skills.
​Learn the skills and practice them to build "muscle-memory".

Enamel Science
Learn how "Principles & Variables" affect your results.
A Principle describes a change that is based on a "Law of Nature". For instance, the principle of Thermal Expansion/Contraction describes how the metal and enamel expands when heated and contracts when it cools, how this affects whether your enamel "cracks", and what you can do solve "cracking" problems.
​
 A Variable is anything that I can control that will produce a different result. In the above example, the variables would be the type of metal, thickness of the metal, the enamel layer thickness, and the type of enamel. Change one of these and your result may change.

When you apply the principles and control different variables, you are more likely toachieve "what you want" instead of hoping for "happy accidents".

Curiosity & Exploration, not Copying a Project 
Instead of focusing solely on technique or a "project", students will explore the power of questions, experimentation, and discovery to unlock their unique artistic potential.
 Fear takes a back seat when you let go of "Right or Wrong".
Embrace the freedom that emerges when you learn how to "Figure It Out".

Confidence
Through guided inquiry and a hands-on approach to explore questions, students will leave feeling empowered, excited, and eager to dive into the world of enameling with confidence in their own studios.

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.

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"?

New Workshop 
Build YOUR personal & unique Cloisonne´ Language
Your Cloisonne´ Enamel Voice

• Do you sometimes feel stuck because you don't know how to move beyond the techniques you learned in your classes?
• Do you want to feel more inspired and connected to what you are making?
• Would you like to create more meaningful enamel artwork?
• Do you want to make artwork that looks like everyone elses' or do you want to create unique and meaningful enamel images?

Would you like some guidance finding and developing your own unique style?
This workshop challenges you to step outside of your comfort zone, confront your fears, and explore questions about translation and design. Improve your old skills and add some new tricks too!

Your Enamel Voice: More Than Techniques

Enamel is more than color, more than skill.
​It is a language—your language. Every artist has a voice, a way of speaking through their marks, their choices, their way of seeing the world.

When I want to explore, build, and change my enamel voice, this is what I consider...
Explore "marks": This is your design element language
Explore "enamel marks". This is your enamel design element language.
Practice translating between the two different languages

It's how you consider all of the many ways to use your techniques and skills.

​Techniques are the way that you can make and change a Mark. You Voice is the language of "Your Marks". 

• The types of enamel marks that you love: lines, shapes, patterns, color, and value.
• How you combine your enamel colors, wires, and foil elements.
• How you utilize depth and light.
• How you move the viewers' eye through the piece.
• How you make the piece feel "Extraordinary"!

In this class for intermediate enamelists, we dive into how you can use your skills to create an enamel language that reflects your unique style, taste, and point of view. Translate your ideas and images into unique and personal cloisonne´enamel imagery.

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Take your enameling to the next level

Look at this image; Can you see the different lines, shapes, patterns, colors, and values? You may already have the skills to make a piece like this! 
My way of putting these all together is MY language. And the way that I use my materials: my enamel colors and color layers, my use of wires, and the nuance with which I use both the background metal and foil layers to reflect light is But being able to imagine, design, and create a piece that "speaks from your heart" is a different type of challenge.

Most classes teach you how to duplicate your "teacher's voice", not let "your voice" emerge. Discovering and embracing your voice requires practice, not a class that gives you the "right answers". Because when it comes to your enamel voice, there are no right answers!

Most classes focus on learning new techniques. This is important but uses utilizes a Performer Mindset: do it the right way, know the right answer, and get the right result.

Because you voice is UNIQUE to you, a different type of mindset is usually required. This is an Explorer Mindset. Instead of looking for the "right", the explorer is searching for the "possible". Our questions change and these new questions lead us to different actions, different results, and different ways to evaluate our results. This is a different type of practice from perfecting skills; it is using skills to discover what is possible and what you like!

Three parts to your Enamel Voice
Explore "marks": This is your design element language
Explore "enamel marks". This is your enamel design element language.
Practice translating between the two different languages

It's how you consider all of the many ways to use your techniques and skills.

Many teachers show you the "How-to" techniques
(This is important, but it may not be enough)

 I've learned, practiced, and improved my Technical Skills.
I explain and demonstrate the Science and how I apply it in my work.

I ask myself questions about
Design,
Creativity,
and Self-Expression
as I learn to create my artwork

I've learned to Let Go of
Rules,
Self-doubt,
and Fear
so that I can feel FREE
with my technique

Creative Enamel classes help you build the skills to use the Techniques, understand the Science, Design exciting images, Create innovative artwork , Express Yourself, and perhaps most importantly, Let Go so that you can rediscover your childlike curiosity and feel a sense of Freedom with enamel.

"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

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?

What makes these classes special?
Here is what you get...

Introduction to Cloisonne´
​3-Day Workshop

• 10 am to 5 pm
• Cloisonne´ Foundation Skills
• Enamel Science Principles
• Third day to play & explore
• price: $389
• ($200 deposit)
• Available Dates: May 2-4

Introduction to Cloisonne´
​5-Day Workshop

• Monday through Friday
• 10 am to 5 pm
• Cloisonne´ Foundation Skills
• Enamel Science Principles
• 3 extra days to play, explore, and create your own projects
• price: $689
• ($400 deposit)
• Available Dates: April 7-11

Fun & Excitement

• lots of play & experimentation
• freedom to "try it" without fear of failure
• encouragement to find your own way
• improvisational lessons for those "different" questions