Jewelry Arts Institute’s Student of the Week- Sheila Uniti.

by jeanettecaines on March 15, 2011

22k gold with opals and peridot

22k gold with opals and peridot

Congratulations to our latest Student of the Week- Sheila Uniti.  Last weeks Student of the Week work was modern and monochromatic so I thought this week’s piece should be a riot of color with lots of detail work.  Granulation on a curved surface is a tricky business so I thought we could discuss a few tips for getting it done.

If you are familiar at all with granulation then you know that a plating of copper or application of cupric oxide is applied to the granules or smaller objects.  The backsheet is depletion gilded or enriched,  which means that the backsheet is heated and pickled repeatedly,  leaving a layer of pure or fine gold at the surface.  The copper and fine gold melt together at a slightly lower temperature than 22k gold fuses to 22k gold.  Using this method is what gives your piece a beautiful,   delicately fused look rather than a flooded,  overdone look.  That is,  if you can get those darn granules to stay in place on the way to the kiln.  The first key element is the size of your granules.  When working on a curved surface,  the smaller the better.  Gravity is not your friend.  We will use glue to hold them in place on the way to the kiln but first they are arranged with a fine brush and only water to begin.  If glue is used when setting the granules up,  the result is too much glue which can bubble up in the burning off process with disastrous results.  It can also leave a funny residue which can interfere in fusing.  At JAI we use one drop of hide glue (also known as wood glue for fine furniture) to 12 drops of water.  For a curved surface we also add one drop of liquid Batterns flux to the solution.  This tiny bit of flux holds the granules in place after the glue has burned away in the kiln,  vital in curved surface granulation.  Sheila used all of these techniques to great success  in her piece.  Job well done and happy granulating!

jeanettecaines

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