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Five Days of Fold Forming
Charles Lewton-Brain is credited with inventing fold forming, a metalsmithing technique recognized the world over as the only new, original innovation in metal working in millennia. Fold forming uses the metal's flexibility to make complex forms resembling chased, constructed and soldered shapes. You can rapidly achieve results is three to five minutes from single sheets of metal!
The tools are simple: fingers, hammers, mallets, anvil, vise and rolling mill. In five days of demonstration and practice, students will learn to achieve complex high-relief forms which are often possible with a single annealing. The workshop will use 24 gauge copper but these techniques may be used with many metals including gold, silver, aluminum, niobium, and steel. Fold forming structures and surfaces are applicable for jewelry, hollow ware, enameling, anodizing, etc.
Students will focus on exploring the many possibilities this technique has to offer and can expect to create a large number of samples and possibly some fully finished peices. Applying fold-forming to jewelry design will also be addressed.
Meet the instructor
Charles Lewton-Brain studied and worked in Europe and North America. He lectures and publishes internationally on his research into rapid manipulation of metal and it's surface for artistic and manufacturing purposes. He invented Fold-Forming, an internationally reconized new approach to working sheet metals. Head of the Jewellery/Metals Program at the Alberta College of Art and Design, he writes, exhibits and works in his studio. He is President of the Canadian Crafts Federation. He thinks of himself as an artist who works primarily in the context of body ornament. He is a founding partner in the world's largest free educational web site for jewelers, ganoksin.com and has over 700 pages of his writing there.
Materials & Tools
There is a materials fee of $85, payable upon registration, which includes enough copper to experiment and create for 5 full days.
Metalwerx will also have hammers recommended by Charles Lewton-Brain available for purchase at the class.
Students Should Bring:
- Notebook, pens, camera for recording samples.
- Safety goggles and ear plugs or muffs.
- Hammers and mallets if you have them. Best are forging and raising hammers.
- Exacto Knife and Blades
- If students wish to work in silver, they should bring their own. We recommend 24 gauge
- Your favorite hand tools, saw, pliers, emery paper selection.
Here is a link with information about recommended tools for fold forming: http://brainpress.com/Foldformingtools.shtml