MY Process
How Does She Do It?
A little about me first:
Hi, My name is Tonya Butcher. I am located in Northern Virginia and enjoy creating in my studio at home. In 2014 I left a 20 year career in the corporate accounting world to pursue a life as a full-time artist. I have never been happier. I enjoy working with bright vibrant color. If you were to visit my studio you would likely find me with a paint brush in my hand, either painting silk or lovely enamel jewelry.
I am currently studying under Ricky Frank and I love to learn new techniques. Although I have learned much from Mr Frank, I find that the best teacher is experience. I find that experimentation is one of my favorite past times.
My husband (Bill) and I travel the US selling our wares at fine art shows and my work may also be found at a gallery in Fredericksburg VA.... Artful Dimensions, located 922 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg VA
Now here is my process of creation:
Cloisonné Process:
I begin by designing the piece in adobe illustrator. I create the shape and size I like to use. The next step is a very exciting part of the process for me. I print out a sheet with different shapes and begin to draw what I want the wire work to look like. The thin line you see that creates the design are actually fine silver wire that has been flattened in a rolling mill. I bend and shape this very thin fine silver wire to create the design.
Using a sheet of either copper or fine silver I glue the shapes to the metal and saw out the shapes. The shape then gets domed and counter enamel is applied. If I am using copper I apply a thin layer of enamel and fuse a sheet of fine silver foil to the piece. If I am using fine silver I flash the silver to a mirror finish and apply a thin layer of clear enamel in preparation to fuse the fine silver wire.
The wire then gets glued and fused in place:
A finely ground glass called vitreous enamel is applied in thin layers and fired in a kiln to melt the glass. I typically apply 2 to 3 layers of color enamel and top if off with several layers of clear enamel. The piece is fired between each layer of glass. Each piece can have up to 12 layers of glass.
Once the color layers have been applied the piece is ground and polished and it goes in the kiln one last time for a fire polish. At this point the piece is ready to be set in a bezel.
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Champlevé Process:
A few slight differences than above:
Using fine silver sheet, I design and saw out a design for the top layer of the piece. Once the shape is sawn out, (using a torch) I fuse it to a back plate of fine silver. I then trim and finish the edges. I fabricate and soldered a bail to the back. Counter enamel is applied to the back of the piece. (sometimes I like to add wire work to the back with my signature)
(If this is going to be a cloisonne piece ) The fine silver wire is then fused to the front of the piece in preparation for the vibrant color to be applied. (My favorite part)
A finely ground glass called vitreous enamel is applied in thin layers and fired in a kiln to melt the glass. I typically apply 2 to 3 layers of color enamel and top if off with several layers of clear enamel. The piece is fired between each layer of glass. Each piece can have up to 12 layers of glass.
Once the color layers have been applied the piece is ground and polished and it goes in the kiln one last time for a fire polish.
The silver is polished and placed in the tumbler to work harden and obtain a higher level of polish.
