Enameling Classes

Enameling is the colorful result of fusing powdered glasses to metal, using high heat to form a durable vitreous coating. The first enamels date to the 6th Century BC, in ancient Cyprus. At The Crucible, we teach both traditional and experimental application techniques, onto various metals. Students make objects ranging from fine cloisonné jewelry to large-scale steel sculptures and wall pieces.

Upcoming Bay Area Enameling Courses

Browse below for all upcoming Enameling classes. Please note that due to safety concerns surrounding COVID-19, all upcoming Crucible classes are in-person with strict health and safety policies in place for students, faculty, and staff. You must review all Crucible policies before registering.

Meet The Enameling Department Heads

Katherine Joksch

After discovering her passion for metalsmithing and jewelry while studying abroad in Italy, Katy found a love for teaching. “Sharing my passion for metals and enameling with students of all ages continues to be an unbelievably rewarding and educational endeavor,” Katy shared with us. She has been teaching in The Crucible’s Enameling Department since 2009.

Judy Stone

Judy first encountered enameling in 1968 while studying on a Fulbright fellowship in Germany. She later recalled, “One day I saw a piece coming out of a kiln. It was molten red and as it cooled I could see brilliant color emerging. It was the alchemy of that transformation that piqued my interest.” After settling in the San Francisco Bay area in 1972 she taught herself to enamel, and has been involved at The Crucible since the beginning.

Step Inside Our Enameling Department

Enameling Adult Classes

The Crucible offers a wide variety of adult classes teaching different enameling techniques. Whether you want to learn the fundamentals of torch firing or painterly shading techniques of cloisonne, The Crucible has you covered. See the complete list of enameling classes offered below.

3-Hour Taster: Enameling

3-Hour Taster: Enameling

3-Hour Tasters are a great way to explore a new art form without the deeper commitment of a full course. After a basic introduction to enamel sifting and kiln-firing, make a stenciled enamel pendant or keychain to take home. Take a Taster and meet new friends or give the gift of creativity to someone special.

3-d enameling

A Primer in 3-D Enameling

Explore the art of 3-D metal forms with Judy Stone in this introductory one-day workshop. We will work with soft copper sheet, mesh, and copper wire. Students learn to plan for adding enamel to forms and how to fire forms. Spray equipment, industrial enameling materials, and traditional jewelry enamels are used.

CLOISONNE

Cloisonne

Hone your artistic skills with renowned enamel artist Roberta Smith and the intricate, scientific process of cloisonné enameling. Use the rich, subtle, and distinctive colors of transparent and opalescent enamels on fine silver to create small pieces of jewelry or artwork. Students learn painterly shading techniques and high-gloss polishing.

PREREQUISITE: Enameling I

Enamel Hearts

Enamel Hearts

Spend the morning making an original heart-shaped pendant for your valentine, pet, or yourself—just in time for Valentine’s Day! Sweetly sentimental or post-apocalyptic, the end result is up to you. Cut your own individual heart shape in fine gauge copper, add texture and dimension, then apply powdered vitreous enamels and fire in the kiln to add color and vibrancy.

Enamel Ornaments

Enamel Ornaments

Add a special touch to your holiday traditions with an enameled ornament of your own design. Using flat, precut copper shapes as a base, layer colored opaque glass in stenciled designs, then fire it in the kiln to create a unique ornament you can pass down from generation to generation. Finish your ornament with a decorative hook to add to your tree or give as a gift.

This class is part of Family Day, where parents and guardians with children ages 8 and up are welcome to register with their kids and get hands-on making ornaments—just in time for the holidays.

Enameled Stainless Steel Bowl

Enameled Stainless Steel Bowl

In this 3-hour course, students will learn how to prepare a stainless steel bowl for enameling and airbrush it with liquid white enamel. Using sgraffito, a decorative scratching technique that reveals a lower layer of a contrasting color, students will make their own design in the white enamel, then fire the bowl, leaving with their own unique enameled steel vessel!

Enameling II

Enameling I

Discover the ancient art of fusing glass to metal. You will learn techniques in metal preparation and fabrication for enameling, kiln properties and firing methods, properties of enamel, and dry and wet applications.

Enameling I

Enameling II

Work with master enamel artist Judy Stone to further develop the skills learned in Enameling I, including torch firing, basic enamel painting, and working with precious metals and 3-D forms. In addition to a lot of experimenting, students will produce at least three finished pieces.

PREREQUISITE: Enameling I

Enameling Lab

Enameling Lab

Lab sessions are a great benefit, exclusively for Crucible members! Practice the skills you learn in class and explore new possibilities with your craft. No instruction is provided during lab sessions, but a lab monitor will be present to answer questions, manage safety, and provide overall support. You are free to come and go at your convenience during open lab hours, however you must provide your own materials.

PREREQUISITE: Enameling I and Crucible membership

Enameling

Exploring Liquid Enamels

Originally formulated to glaze steel in the 1800s, liquid enamels are referred to as industrial or porcelain enamels because of their similarity to ceramic glazes. They can be painted, splashed, airbrushed, and combined with other media to add spontaneity to enameling. Students will use these enamels, in conjunction with more standard forms of enameling, to create several test tiles and a small wall piece on copper. This is an entry-level class, although those with basic enameling skills are welcome.

Fred Ball Experimental Enameling Techniques

Fred Ball Experimental Enameling Techniques

Fred Uhl Ball (1945-1985) was an enamelist who lived and taught in Sacramento. His work was viewed as highly unorthodox at the time, but created a firm basis for current contemporary enameling. Specific techniques include working with fire scale, creating collages, using liquid enamel and other materials associated with the porcelain enamel industry, over- and under-firing, and much more. Explore this inspiring approach with Judy Stone.

PREREQUISITE: Enameling I

Friday Flame: Enameling

Friday Flame: Enameling

End the workweek with fire, friends, and a toast. Join us for Friday Flame, a unique night focused on industrial arts and good company. Sift, stencil, and practice sgraffito with dry enamel, designing and making a copper pendant to take home. After class, enjoy wine, beer, or a non-alcoholic beverage and marvel at your new masterpiece!

Torch Fired Enameling

Torch Fired Enameling

Learn how to use the torch to fuse glass to metal! Working on copper, you will learn the basics of how the enamel medium works and how to fuse using the torch. We will go over metal preparation, enamel application, and the special considerations of using a torch for fusing. You will leave with several completed projects, including a pair of earrings and a pendant.

Watercolor Enamel Earrings

Watercolor Enamel Earrings

In this three-hour course, you will create a unique pair of earrings of your own design! Starting with a white opaque enamel base, you will add layers of watercolor underglaze enamels to paint your own design. Watercolor enamels can be mixed just like watercolors to create a wide range of color options. After many firings, you will leave class with a hand designed pair of enamel earrings!

Enameling Youth Classes

In the Enameling Department, we offer youth classes specifically for ages 12-18. In these classes, The Crucible provides a unique setting for youth to get hands-on with enamels, exploring their creative voices and absorbing real-life lessons in science, technology, engineering, and math. You can see all The Crucible’s offerings for youth here.

Youth Enameling

Youth Enameling (ages 12-18)

Discover the ancient art of fusing glass to metal. You will learn about metal preparation and fabrication for enameling, kiln properties and methods for firing, properties of enamel, and dry and wet application techniques.

Being Prepared For Your Enameling Class

Enameling classes are held on the first floor of our building. Please contact us if you have any questions about accessibility and we will be happy to accommodate.

Students must arrive for class in all-natural fiber clothing, long pants, and closed-toe, closed-heel shoes with socks that protect up to the ankle. Long hair must be tied back. Nylon, polyester, spandex, or other synthetics are not allowed around machines, equipment, or processes that can produce hot fragments, sparks, or flames.

The Crucible requests students always arrive in studio safe clothing when working. Layers are encouraged as the studio can be very cold or very hot. Learn more about enameling from our online guide.

Ready to get hands-on in Enameling?

The Crucible has Enameling classes starting each month