Wednesday 18th April 2007
I'm leaving Mum to do her own thing on her last day in Tokyo. She will go shopping or to Shinjuku Gyoen garden. Or both!
Following the recommendation of many other expats, I've enrolled in a class at the Tokyo Union Church. Today I will be learning how to do cloisonné - the ancient art of making pretty things out of metal and enamel. It's only for one morning so I'm not sure how much I'll get done.
As it turned out, the lesson was very simple and I made a pendant and decorated a small pill box. If I knew where they were I'd photograph them for you, but I wasn't entirely impressed with my efforts so gave them to Rhiannon who was impressed.
There were about four students and a bouncy teacher who brought her own kiln with her. We soldered thin metal wire onto the pre-cut shapes, filled them with enamel powder mixed with water to make a paste then cooked them. As I'd already done this during metalwork lessons in school (sometime in the last century) none of this was particularly new. However, the enamel was different and the colours hard to gauge before firing.
The teacher wants me to apply to go to her next lesson and will bring me in a tile to enamel and display at an exhibition. How exciting!
