Flamenco

The story in this piece is really in the technique... Chasing and Repousse.  This is a technique where the metal is manipulated, stretched, and moved with punches and tools to created a raised, three-dimensional design.  Again, if you want to learn more, I recommend you head over to Wikipedia.

I had no freakin' idea how mailable and accommodating metal could be until I learned this technique.  Until this point in time, I had assumed that metal was something static and immovable (like rock) rather than something so elastic.  Oh, how delightfully wrong I was!

Of course, learning chasing and repousse was also very nerve wracking; the best metal thickness to begin with to get the required movement is 20 gauge... which is slightly under 1mm thick.  If I had used a thicker metal, then the metal would not be willing to play with me, rude!  But beginning with a material that is so thin meant that if I wasn't careful, I could have punched right through the metal, creating holes and tears that were not part of my design.  Scary stuff for a beginner!

This was the first piece that I made as an "intermediate" metalsmith at Edinboro... and honestly, I'm not sure that I can underestimate the importance of the lesson that this piece and this technique taught me: that metal is like playdough, moving in predictable and controllable patterns... and that under the right circumstance, the thinnest micron of metal can be so strong and so durable that it will have a lifespan much longer than my own.  I tell you what, that is one cool lesson.