Alrighty, these are two pieces that I made in a workshop a couple of weeks ago. I'm sorry that the picture is so crummy, but I'm just feeling a little bit lazy at the moment so I'm calling it "good enough." On the left is an example of saw-and-solder champleve, and on the right is a sample of cloisonne. Both are enameling techniques using powdered glass that is then fused onto silver or copper at approximately 1450*-1500*F (depending on the enamel's flow point).
These techniques differ on one main point: in champleve the cells you fill with enamel are incised into the metal and in cloisonne you build cells onto the metal with cloisonne wire. Also, there are two ways to create cells in champleve: the traditional way is to etch half way through a piece of thick-gauge (14-16) metal, and the other is to pierce your design out of thin-gauge metal (22) then solder it down to a backing. Which ever technique is chosen (traditional champleve, saw-and-solder champleve, or cloisonne), the goal remains the same: create open cells in which to layer enamels.
Learning from Linda Darty (it was her weekend workshop) was certainly an experience, but I really did have a good time learning about the many, many enameling techniques (of which only two are described here)... and I'm pretty sure I'll be turning to enamels again in the future.
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