Make it matte

Sometimes glossy is great but othertimes matte is marvellous, modern and makes me happy. I am talking about enamel, the wonderful material otherwise known as glass. Yes, transparent coloured enamels look luscious when they are fired to a smooth gloss, like wet pebbles look wonderful, but there are times when a subtle matte finish is just right.


Today I was working on my piece for Influx Gallery's 'Fiat Lux' juried show and getting a matte finish was exactly what I needed for my piece. In fact I combined the matte finish with a 'sugar fire', the two enhance each other wonderfully. This is what I did...

• fire your first coat until fully fired and glossy
• sift on your second coat of enamel and fire until it just starts to melt (it is quite tricky to get the time right, if you take it out too soon the enamel will flake off, for our purposes it is better to go a little bit longer rather than underfire too much)
• the piece should look like its name - sugary but not orange peely
• you may want to practice on scrap metal first
• now submerge the piece in some Etchall glass etching liquid, usually takes 20 minutes or so, rinse well and dry
• any parts of the enamel that had gone past the sugar stage will now look beautifully matte
• of course you can use the Etchall on fully fired enamel too, to give a smooth matte finish

Have fun and remember to break all the rules!