Melissa's Melting Pot

Great day today with in region 4 with the Enamellers guild! We tried lots of different techniques and had an amazing tutor: Jill Leventon. You can check out her website here: http://www.jleventon.co.uk  We started off using a press former to create different shapes and patterns on the copper. We tried it out a few times with different patterns and shapes, testing out how much pressure to use!  Then we tried crimping the copper to create different effects. Using the different crimpers we experimented with pattern.  Jill then helped me make a shell shape using the crimped copper! It looks amazing!  Which I then enamelled with liquid copper enamel.  Thank you Jill and the rest of region 4 for a great day! 

This week I have been playing with the idea of sensory mark making gel bags.  They are super easy to make and the kids are loving them! You can tape them to the table or walls or windows and even put shapes, numbers or pictures behind them.  The kids have really enjoyed using the bags to make marks in and play with. Defiantly work a try in your setting!  I used hair gel, food colouring and glitter for my ones but you could use anything really! 

I have been a member of the Enamellers guild for a few years now and have only been to one meeting so far... So I thought this year that should change, and I signed up for the workshop/meeting last weekend with Ruth Ball. We experimented with surface design and how to create a matte finish on enamelled pieces. It was really interesting, that is when I finally found the English bridge workshop (the place it was  held at).  Ruth was an amazing teacher and really very modest about her ability, here are some photos of her stuff... Beautiful! You can check out her website at: www.ruthballenameldesign.com  Here are some examples of the work produced... And these are my four pendants! I also found that being in a place that had lots of experts who had been enamelling for years was very inspiring and I had loads of inspiration and ideas through talking to the other members of the guild. I will definitely be attending the next meeting! The moral of this story is to try new things even if they s

We have now moved into 'the build'... Think a name change is in order! It's no longer half done and is finally coming together :) we have the bedroom all finished now but there is a little left to do in the downstairs so just waiting on the builders to come and finish up.  Here are some photos of the development of it!  Before it all... Mum and Michael outside. The inside... Plastered and painted. Downstairs.. Flooring in Carpet in:  Finished photos will be up soonish :) 

Today we made fossils, and it was great fun! This week has been focused on dinosaurs so we used the toy dinosaurs to make marks in the clay.  We then rolled out snakes of clay and flattened them to create walls.  I mixed up plaster of Paris with water to a gloopy consistency so I could spoon it out into the molds. Then I filled the molds we had made with the mixture and left to set.  When set, we carefully peeled the walls away and saw the 'fossils' we had created. The design was raised as the negative space we had taken away through pressing dinosaurs into the clay was filled in.  Here are a few examples of our fossils. 

This year I am going ahead with a project I have been planning for some time now...  I am going to set up my own business! Or attempt to anyway! I have been enamelling and playing with glass for the last seven years and have wanted to do this as a job... Crazy right?! When others have wanted to buy a new car or some fancy new technology I have wanted a kiln and a blow torch. My future project towards creating my dream studio will be to build a furnace, but I need a shed/studio first!  Anyway, back to reality, having spoken to a lot of different people about my business idea I am going to try it this year.  Watch this space!