People on another forum wanted to know how this piece got made, so I posted a mini tutorial on Picasa in a folder called "Creating the Madonna". Here's a link to it: https://picasaweb.google.com/deborahkirkpatrick56
I've found that construction issues are the most difficult part on making a piece. I've often been annoyed that many jewelry books don't adequately address how to put disparate parts together. Enamels (and stones) pose real problems; you can't always rivet (danger of breaking the stones or enamel) and you can't solder. Not every piece calls for prongs or bevels. In this case, I used screws and other mechanical means of holding the piece together (with epoxy, just in case).
Hope it helps someone trying to figure out how to help put their piece together.
Debbie K