Pendants On Display at The Santa Fe Shop

The Santa Fe Shop in Fish Creek is featuring the one-of-a-kind, enameled pendants by artist Cande Toner of Dancing Turtle Studios in Santa Fe. The pendants have hand written, inspirational Chinese characters along with the English translation of the word.

Enameling is the ancient art of fusing glass onto metal, and Toner utilizes a more unconventional approach where higher temperatures are used to bring out an ancient and earthy look as well as a special clarity and depth in the glass that is not possible with traditional firing methods.

For the pendants, Toner cuts copper to shape and hammers it to form a slight dome. The metal is then annealed and cleaned. Glass is then sifted on the back and fired to produce a counter enamel. The piece is then cleaned again to prepare for the final firings, leaving the natural fire stain intact as design elements.

Special ink is prepared from black oxide and painted on to the bare surface. At this point the kiln is heated from 1,750 degrees F to 2000 degrees F. Glass is applied to the surface and the piece is fired again. This process is repeated up to twelve times.

Santa Fe Shop is located at 4147 Main Street in Fish Creek. For more information call 920.868.4300.