Gholam Ali Faiz Elahi

I’m Gholam Ali Faiz Elahi born in 1959 and I have been learning enamel art since 50 years ago. I started learning this art from my father Gholam Hossein Faiz Elahi and then I learned from master Sanizadeh who was my fathers master and the founder of modern enamel art. Everyone in our family including me, my brother and my three sisters works  with enamel art. We mostly do custom works and we had the honor to make some of the doors in Imams shrines. According to documents enamel art dates back to 1400 BC and the roots of this art can be traced back to Iran. Isfahan city has a long history of enamel artists. We have five types of enamels, the first one is Cloisonné which was mostly used in China, India and Russia and its no longer being used now. Inlaid enamel was mostly for Qajar era and now it is being used in India. Then there is painted enamel which isn’t being used for a long time. The las type is Champlevé enamel, the embossed surface was formerly made by enamel or glaze but right now cooper smith masters make the embosses when forming the cooper and then we paint them. A good feature of enamel art is its durability, enamel works can be used again after many years. All kinds of colors can be used, but the most common colors are blue and turquoise, which add a sense of solace.  Enamel can be worked on different metals like gold, iron, silver and cooper, but cooper is more popular because its flexible and it absorbs the color better. When copper vessel is made by a master coppersmith, it is washed with hot water and glazed, then it should be baked at 800 degrees and glazed again. It is easier to design on a white background because it takes less work, but other colors require more processing and time. In my book unlike common dictionaries I have defined the enamel art as the art of love and fire.