Here's a Pretty Thing

I have a great student, Diana, in my class(es) this spring who has studied enameling for years in California with an old school crowd and I am learning as much or more from her as she is from me (one of the reasons I love teaching).  I had always used Thompsons 1995 Black for, well, black.  But 1996 black does a really cool thing if you over fire it. You heard me- over fire it. I didn't fire it over 1500 F, I just fired it longer than necessary.

At the top of this photo is a copper piece with 1995 black. On the left is 1996 black fired properly.  Although you can't see it in this photo (have a mentioned how difficult it is to photograph shiny enamel on a curved surface????) the 1996 is actually slightly purplish and just a hair translucent, unlike 1995, which is completely opaque and flat black.  On the right is the same 1996 black over-fired a couple of times (just to make sure).  There's absolutely nothing else on that piece of copper but 1996.   Gorgeous!  I'm looking forward to doing more with this little bit of info :-)