Michael Romanik: Enamelist, Jewelry Artist, Metalsmith
Just before receiving my Bachelor of Fine Art degree from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1989 as a drawing major, I was introduced to enameling. In my 4th year, a friend showed me pieces of copper she had covered with some sort of colorful, durable coating. She explained that it was enamel, and briefly told me about the class and the process. I’d never heard of this, but was very intrigued and so enrolled in the class at the start of my 5th and final year at CIA, to learn some of the basics of the medium.
Enameling is the art of applying fine granules of colored glass to metal and firing it, at a high temperature, in a kiln. Cloisonné (klwa zô na'), the technique that I use for my work, incorporates thin flat wire that is bent to form "cells" to hold the powdered glass. I enamel on fine silver sheet and use fine silver and 24K gold wire. Mostly using enamels from France and Japan with primarily transparent colors, I also incorporate black and white opaque enamel and a few opalescent (milky, semi-opaque) enamels.
To begin, I cut out a shape from 18-gauge fine silver sheet using a jeweler’s saw and then "anneal" the silver, heating it with a torch, making it "dead" soft. This is done to alleviate any stress in the metal. Annealing also makes it easier to "dome" the metal, shaping it by hand to give it a slight convex curve, which is a more stable surface to withstand the many firings a cloisonne piece must go through. A coating of liquid enamel is painted on to the underside of the silver blank and a coating of clear enamel is sifted on to the top. After drying, the piece is fired at 1500 degrees F. The firings are short, approximately one minute long, just until the glass granules melt. The enamel layers must be built up slowly on each side of the piece to avoid cracking and chipping when the piece cools.
The cloisonne wires are bent into shape using small pliers and fine tweezers and adhered temporarily to the clear-coated side of the piece with a binder. Once dry, it is fired so that the wires sink slightly into the softened enamel. The colored enamels are washed and mixed with distilled water and a few drops of binder, making them into a paste-like consistency, and then are applied with fine paint brushes. It takes an average of five layers of enamel for each piece, firing between each layer, until the layers are about the same height as the wires, approximately 1/16" high. The enamel piece is then ground on a lapidary belt sander to smooth the surface and refine its shape. Firing one last time restores the high gloss surface of the glass. A setting is fabricated for the finished cloisonné piece from silver, gold, or a combination of both. Many of my pieces also incorporate gemstones.
I have been making cloisonne jewelry for 20 years and exhibit at art and craft shows throughout the country. Locally, I’ve participated in the Cain Park Arts Festival in Cleveland Heights last July, and the Lakewood Arts Festival last August. I also wholesale my work to craft galleries throughout the country.
I’ve participated in Arts Collinwood’s annual December Holiday Show for the past 4 years. I was introduced to Arts Collinwood by a friend, Michael Mikula, a Cleveland glass artist who produces beautiful blown vessels and bowls, as well as striking cast glass and machined aluminum and steel sculptures.
I have taught myself many soldering and fabrication techniques over the past 20 years. My work has been included in several books and magazine articles. Inspiration for my work comes from many sources: Asian and Indian textiles, geometric patterns, the imagery of the early Egyptian, Mayan and Celtic civilizations, and nature.