Copper Tooling Handout

Copper Repousse Repousse Metal Work Copper, gold, and silver were The process or the product of ornamenting fashioned into ornaments and amulets as early metallic surfaces with designs in relief as the Neolithic period (stone age). Goldwork hammered out from the back by hand. and silverwork have since employed the talents Gold and silver are most commonly used today of leading artisans and artists in making for fine work, but copper and tin are suitable for embossed jewelry, plates, relief inlays, and the purpose, and bronze was extensively used in sculpture. The first great advance in past times. The process is of ancient origin, metalworking occurred when techniques for having been employed by most early making bronze sculpture were developed civilizations. Among the finest examples of during the Bronze Age. Methods of repousse are the famous bronze armor of shaping metals include drawing, spinning, Greece of the 4th cent. B.C., Byzantine religious hammering, and casting; various decorative works, and much of the gold and bronze work processes include chasing, damascening, of Benvenuto Cellini. embossing, enamel work, filigree, gilding, inlaying, niello, and repousse.

Embossed: Embossing refers to the creation of an impression of some kind of design, decoration, lettering or pattern on another surface like paper, cloth, metal and even leather, to make a relief. Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb relevo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the back- ground plane. High Relief: Where more than 50% of the depth is shown and can even wrap around and undercut areas. Low Relief (Bas Relief): A very shallow relief (think of a coin) Med Relief: Somewhere in between high and low Art-Making Process:

I want you to have meaning behind your piece. Don’t just do something because it “looks cool”. Think of a story or have it in some way relate to you.

1. After researching ideas, start to sketch on paper (size 6”x10” square) a design that relates back to your topic. You can also find a design online and scale it using Photoshop to fit the 6” x 10” requirement.

2. Using your sketch as the basis, tape the 6”x10” paper design onto your sheet metal. Use the various metal tools to trace over your sketch and transfer your drawing onto the metal.

3. Use the various different metal carving tools to press your design into the metal. It works best to work with at least 1 magazines underneath your metal as you work. After the entire sketch has been pressed into the metal, use the tools again to go back and re-press into the lines/shapes to make them stand out more. Remeber to work from the front and the back to get as much texture into your piece as possible. Do not leave any area blank with out either pushing it in or popping the image out.

4. After it’s complete, use a cotton ball and the sulpher oil to add a patina to the metal. A little bit goes a long way! Use the oil sparingly! We will do this in groups.

5. After the oil is dry, use a paper towel to polish and burnish the metal, creating a vintage effect

6. Each of you have a block of wood that you will not paint or collage on. Make sure whatever you do relates back to your copper image.