I thought I knew the correct ending for the title phrase, but I’ve learned that “try, try again” doesn’t always work.

For the past two months I’ve been trying to teach myself how to do torch enamel. It looked so easy when a friend demonstrated the technique at a meetup. She even let me do one following her demo and I did just fine. Yet, after ordering my own enamel and giving it a try, I found things weren’t so easy after all.

I don’t give up easily and believe that if I just practice something long and hard enough, I’ll eventually get it. That was not the case with torch enameling. I’ve been trying to enamel flat copper disks, but they either turned out bubbly or bumpy or mottled. Thinking I had one of the variables wrong,  I tried altering various things. I tried several different gauges of copper sheet metal. No luck. Then I tried various colors of enamel thinking perhaps one color had a problem. No luck. I even switched torches, trying three different ones. . . no luck. I also took my inferior disks to my friend who did the demo, but she didn’t know what was wrong either.

Finally, I was asked to bring my torch and help the same friend work with a large group at another meetup. During our time together, she let me use some of her enamel. LUCK! I torch enameled those disks like a pro and learned that the problem was the brand of enamel I was using. Although I’m relieved to know it wasn’t me, I’m upset that I spent so much time trying to alleviate my difficulty.

Now, I have purchased Thompsons’ enamels and am having a great time with the technique.  The blue earrings below look like they have some white on them, but this is just the glare.

This learning episode reminds me of when I was taking doctorate level statistics. The professor said we shouldn’t struggle with a problem more than 30 minutes before seeking assistance. I believe her advise stems to more things than statistics. The next time I can’t get something to work, I’m going to visit a successful friend.