Showing posts with label foldforming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foldforming. Show all posts
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Fold-Formed Copper Leaf Earrings
"Foldforming" by Charles Lewton-Brain. This book is full of exciting forms and ideas by the man who discovered the concept. The earrings I listed in my Etsy shop are very simple ones done by foldforming. They were cut from copper sheet, folded, shaped and textured. They were then annealed to soften the metal so the fold could be opened. The beautiful patina is a result of the annealing process. The earrings were completed with my own lampwork beads and handmade sterling silver ear wires.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
More Foldforming ....
Two days of foldforming and sharing ideas with a friend were priceless ... I don't know how she feels this morning, but my right arm is sore. Although I have to admit it was sore before the work began from pruning trees and throwing the ball for Sarah, my very active dog.
I had earlier posts last year on foldforming, showed some of our projects and mentioned the master of this art, Charles Lewton-Brain. See his book, "Foldforming", if you are interested in trying it.
We both worked on making a copper cuff on the first day. We cut the metal, ran it through the rolling mill, and then used a device I have that bends metal. It's called a "brake" and looks like this. I had never used it for foldforming before, but it sure worked nicely.
We bent the copper on both long edges of the cuff about 1/4" and hammered these edges flat. Sorry I did not take photos along the way, but you can see the folds on my cuff in the photo below. I decided it needed something else, so I folded it down the middle, hammered it flat, textured that folded edge a bit, and then annealed and pried open the fold. That is the HARD part! An old stainless steel kitchen knife works the best, but you also need physical strength, so whatever you have around you that helps open this fold .... Annealing many times helps. My cuff is not finished, but I already like it. The color showing is from the annealing process and from the brass brush. It's already pretty awesome!
On our second day my friend decided to make a ring using the same technique as the cuff. She used the rolling mill for texture and then bent and hammered the two edges. The hardest part was cutting the ring to size and filing the two edges so they met perfectly. After that was done, the seam was soldered. Here's the ring after that process. It needs finishing and then patina application. Doesn't it look great?!!
I wanted to try a new foldforming project that I had seen in the book, "Mixed Media Mania" by Kim St. Jean. I cut a piece of copper 1-1/2" x 3" and folded it in half lengthwise. After annealing this piece, I started striking the folded edge with a bordering hammer working from the middle down to the end and turning the piece over and repeating the process. Each time I finished this process which took less than a minute, the piece was annealed. How many times did I do this? I lost count, but I continued until the piece curved and the two ends were 1/2" of each other. Wow, how impressive! It's already a piece of art! How about a pair of earrings made this way?
Here's the photo of the piece in the book, along with my unfinished project. More to come .....
I had earlier posts last year on foldforming, showed some of our projects and mentioned the master of this art, Charles Lewton-Brain. See his book, "Foldforming", if you are interested in trying it.
We both worked on making a copper cuff on the first day. We cut the metal, ran it through the rolling mill, and then used a device I have that bends metal. It's called a "brake" and looks like this. I had never used it for foldforming before, but it sure worked nicely.
We bent the copper on both long edges of the cuff about 1/4" and hammered these edges flat. Sorry I did not take photos along the way, but you can see the folds on my cuff in the photo below. I decided it needed something else, so I folded it down the middle, hammered it flat, textured that folded edge a bit, and then annealed and pried open the fold. That is the HARD part! An old stainless steel kitchen knife works the best, but you also need physical strength, so whatever you have around you that helps open this fold .... Annealing many times helps. My cuff is not finished, but I already like it. The color showing is from the annealing process and from the brass brush. It's already pretty awesome!
On our second day my friend decided to make a ring using the same technique as the cuff. She used the rolling mill for texture and then bent and hammered the two edges. The hardest part was cutting the ring to size and filing the two edges so they met perfectly. After that was done, the seam was soldered. Here's the ring after that process. It needs finishing and then patina application. Doesn't it look great?!!
I wanted to try a new foldforming project that I had seen in the book, "Mixed Media Mania" by Kim St. Jean. I cut a piece of copper 1-1/2" x 3" and folded it in half lengthwise. After annealing this piece, I started striking the folded edge with a bordering hammer working from the middle down to the end and turning the piece over and repeating the process. Each time I finished this process which took less than a minute, the piece was annealed. How many times did I do this? I lost count, but I continued until the piece curved and the two ends were 1/2" of each other. Wow, how impressive! It's already a piece of art! How about a pair of earrings made this way?
Here's the photo of the piece in the book, along with my unfinished project. More to come .....
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Beautiful Feathers!
A friend and I had been working on form folding with copper and brass several weeks ago. She said she had started a project at home and showed me bits and pieces of her progress on Skype. Never did I think she would complete such a magnificent project, having had no jewelry training. When I saw this yesterday, it blew my mind! When you have talent, you have talent. I had to share this with you, as I am so very proud of my friend.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Copper Foldformed Cuff
A friend and I have been working with copper lately and I introduced her to foldforming. Wow, did she love it. She made at least six pendants, cut out pieces for earrings and used the new gel liver of sulfur we recently purchased. She said these were going to be Christmas gifts. Smart! Now she's working on a small version of that piece she wants to hang over her fireplace mantel. As long as she uses rivets, she will be OK.
I had a copper cuff I had never finished and looked at it yesterday. The texture and folds were great, but it was a little plain. I added a series of punched holes and it ended up looking great. Here's a photo:
I had a copper cuff I had never finished and looked at it yesterday. The texture and folds were great, but it was a little plain. I added a series of punched holes and it ended up looking great. Here's a photo:
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