Carmen’s copper oak leaf pendant

  Copper is a beautiful metal to work with and is provided free to students…..

Here is an example of creative use of punched textures by student Carmen Hughes. Carmen was a complete beginner. She came to Lucy’s Workshop for a one day session to discover if she liked metal as a medium. I advised her to use copper  because it is very malleable as well as very beautiful and I provide it free to students. Carmen learnt how to cut out her metal in the shape of the oak leaf she had chosen to use as her pattern or outline shape. I then taught her how to ‘anneal’ the copper in order to soften it so that she could make her punched decorative texture.

These techniques are basic but also ancient: man has been working metal in this way with exactly these techniques for centuries. Even many of the tools have not changed. Possibly the biggest difference in the equipment today  is the gas torch which heats and anneals the metal – whereas the Celts used charcoal and bellows to bring it up to heat.

Carmen completed her copper oak leaf pendant in her one day session at the Workshop. She is hoping to come back and develop the skills she learnt  and discover more ways of creating metal jewellery.