Tserovani for the Weekend

Two weeks ago I was able to go to Tserovani for the weekend to be with some of my friends. We had a great time cooking Mexican food, watching movies, talking in English, and just being with each other. But the highlight of the weekend was making our own enamel jewelry.  First you need a little background about Tserovani. It is a IDP settlement made for the people displaced by the 2008 Russia-Georgia war. It doesn't sound like the kind of place you would go to make jewelry, but an amazing local NGO  called "For Better Future" has a class on Saturdays to teach people. You can also buy jewelry already made by their artist. They make some really amazing things. They also run a great little cafe in the settlement. Here is a link to their Facebook page. 

So here is how you make your own enamel jewelry. 

Step One:

Pick out what you want to make. When we came in they had all the options laid out for us. The different kinds of jewelry each have their own price. I love earrings so I picked out a pair I liked the looks off. Then comes the hard part. You get to design the inside. A tip is to keep in mind that it's harder then it looks to fold the metal and that you are new at this. On the plus side the artist are there to help you and can really do almost anything. I knew I wanted to do something in blue/green/purple and that had something to do with Georgia. I was looking in some books they had there and saw a pic of St. George and the Dragon. Georgia is really into St. George, so I went for it. I drew out  "dragon like" wings and went to work. The problem with earrings is that they should look kind of the same. My first one turned out really well, the next not so much. This is where the help of the artist came in handy. After you design them and get the silver shape in, they go into the kiln. That thing is about 700 degrees. This keeps everything in place for the next step. 

Step Two:

You have to pick the exact colors you want. After picking and finding your colors you are ready to "paint". The colors are wet sand that they heat in the kiln to turn into glass. You repeat this process three times. Every layer of sand adds color to the last. You have to be careful not to layer colors that will not melt well together. I wanted mine to be more like a water color, so I layered different blues, greens, and purples. 

Step Three:

Eat lunch. This is an important part of the day. They bring lunch in from the cafe. That day we had khachapuri and lobiani. The cafe does a great job and tastes amazing. 

Step Four: 

Your part of the process is over at this point. They will add one more layer of clear, then file it down. It then goes to a silver smith who does his magic and in about a week you can pick it up.    

It was really amazing to learn a little about this art form. It really is a living part of the history of Georgia. So if you ever find yourself here looking for a truly special cultural experiences, get yourself to Tserovani and make something of your own.