Ms. Lecci’s enameling process starts with designing a minute and often intricate pattern in a rainbow of colors for a space that is rarely more than 48 millimeters (1.9 inches) in diameter. “I have a mortar and pestle to grind the pigments, refine the powders and prepare the enamel shades with a perfect texture for application,” she said. “I hand-grind all my powders to decide different particle sizes for each color.”
As for colors, “I have nearly 400 enamel colors,” she wrote in a follow-up email, adding that they are made of metal oxides, with other oxides to provide color.
The enamels are toxic, Ms. Lecci said, so “I carefully store them in small glass and plastic containers, according to their sensitivity to humidity. To protect myself, I wear a respiratory mask with a filter and I sometimes wear gloves and protective clothing.”
She applies enamels with brushes barely thicker than a human hair, then fires the results in a kiln at 800 degrees Celsius (1,472 degrees Fahrenheit), a temperature that earned the process the French label of grand feu, or grand fire. “My kiln is medium sized,” she said, “large enough to fire one piece at a time, but not too large, so I can ensure precise temperature control.”
The firing is done in stages, one color at a time. It is an inexact art, bordering on science, knowing which colors to use, and how each color will actually look after the firing, and if the firing will crack the item.
Multiple Techniques
There are various types of enameling technique and Ms. Lecci prefers two: cloisonné, which deposits enamel in pockets outlined with thin wire, and cabochon champlevé, which deposits enamel in cavities engraved into the base metal.
