New Experiments: Fold Forming and Flame Coloring Copper

Despite my best intentions show season swept down upon me and kept me so busy I wasn’t able to keep up with posting on the blog. I have been very busy trying to keep up with custom orders and refreshing stock for shows. It’s absolutely necessary for me, however busy I become, to give myself time to ‘play’ in the studio, meaning to follow my creative whims, to try new things, etc. My interest in chasing and repousse led me to a new interest: fold forming. I have enjoyed pursuing this new interest. I also stumbled across flame patinas, or using flame to pull amazing color from copper. This is a tricky mistress, difficult to control and while I’ve far from mastered it I am certainly happy with my results. I thought I’d post a brag and show you some of my latest creations utilizing these techniques.

Here are the three most recent cuffs. Two are done with an asymmetrical cross with one featuring the rise of the fold (the natural copper) and the other featuring the crease of the fold (the colorful one). The third was a total surprise. I was working with a 1″ x 6″ copper plate and placed a single fold in the center. I intended to do a more exaggerated curl at the top and the bottom as shown on the large colorful cuff but as I was working it the curl became a tad more exaggerated than I intended and before I knew it, it was taking a whole new direction – and I liked it. I just kept curling them until the turned in on the fold. I intend to experiment more with this kind of curling.

Below are two unoxidized copper cuffs. One has a satin finish and one has a high polish. Which one do you like better?

Here are some smaller cuffs made with 1×6 copper plates. I experimented with texturing the edges on one of these. It held the color well but the color seems less obvious with the textured metal.

I also (some time back) tried my hand at a technique called ‘air chasing’ with some pretty cool results.

There will be plenty more of these lovelies to come, and lots of experiments yet to unfold. 🙂 Comments are welcomed and appreciated.