Using copper wire to make it look like cloisonné

Now it’s the tricky part of it all. To make it look like cloisonné.

In real cloisonné, you first make patterns with metal wire and then you add color in the fields between the wires. I chose to do it the opposite way. I made the colors and the patterns first, and then I tried to place copper wire in the clay while it still was soft and not cured. I must admit that it was not easy. By warming the copper wire over a candle I could make it softer, but it was still very challenging to place it in the right places on the horse’s pattern and designs. You had to work in a three-dimensional way, not only following the outlines, but also considering how deep into the clay you pressed the wire. Too close to the surface and it wouldn’t stay in place, to deep and it wouldn’t show.

The first picture shows the horse before curing, when the patterns still are contaminated with black from the black clay. You can also see that the copper wire is not visible everywhere,

The second picture shows the horse after curing, and when I had done some of the sanding. You see, this horse required a lot of sanding…