Metal Forming #4 – Part 1

This week was my final Metal Forming class at Lillstreet with Darlys Ewoldt. We covered anticlastic forming and then had Open Studio time.

Anticlastic forming means forming in two directions at once, so, in the pieces below, that means making the metal into a u-shape, but also into the shape of a bracelet.

She first did a demo of forming a bracelet. She used a tool that looks like a table leg, which a friend formed on a lathe for her.

Darlys also showed us how to use a piece of paper to cut out a shape that can be formed into a pod-like shape called a spiculum. Using paper allows you to understand how the initial shape informs the final piece, so you can adjust, adapt, or repeat.

This is one of her spiculum samples. Look at how beautifully the edges meet! That is really hard to do – believe me, I tried!

Here is an example of a paper shape created as a reusable stencil, and the resulting piece: