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Cloisonné Enameling: Line, Structure & Color
This four-week course introduces traditional and contemporary approaches to cloisonné enameling. Students will learn to form, adhere, and fire cloisonné wires to create structured compositions filled with vibrant enamel color. Through guided demonstrations and hands-on practice, participants will complete a finished cloisonné jewelry piece.
Techniques include:
- Wire forming and layout
- Enamel application and layering
- Firing and surface finishing
Please be advised: Due to the need to order supplies, we customarily close registration for our on-site offerings one week before the start date. If you wish to join the class after registration closes, please contact us at [email protected] or 781-891-3854.
Meet the instructor
Olivia Qi is a metalsmith and sculptor based in Massachusetts, specializing in enameling and mixed-media metalwork. She holds an MFA in Studio Arts from Syracuse University and a BFA in Jewelry/Metals from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
Olivia’s work combines metal, enamel, and found materials to explore emotion, color, and form through both wearable and sculptural pieces. Her practice often moves between jewelry and small-scale sculpture, reflecting on the relationship between body, emotion, and material transformation.
She has taught enameling and metals courses at Syracuse University, offering students of diverse backgrounds a space to experiment and discover their own creative language. Her teaching emphasizes surface design, color layering, and playful material exploration, encouraging students to blend technical precision with personal expression and to find meaning through hands-on making.
Materials & Tools
There is a $45 materials fee for this class that is payable upon registration. The kit includes the following items: copper sheet, copper Cloisonné wire, Klyr-fire, enamel, and other communal studio consumables necessary to complete the course objectives.
Students wishing to work in silver are welcome to purchase supplemental materials for their projects on their own, with instructor guidance.
Optional: Students wishing to work entirely in precious metals (fine silver or gold) are welcome to purchase supplemental project materials on their own
- Closed-toe shoes - required for all Metalwerx classes
- Apron
- A box to keep your materials and in-progress projects in
- Notebook / pen or pencil