Sculpting metal - Melissa Manley

I'd forgotten about the metalwork techniques of chasing and repousse - forming metal by working it from front and back with punches and hammers.  It struck me as having huge possibilities for sculptural excitement, deforming malleable metal to combine my love of curve and shape with exciting techniques such as etching and soldering, and one day perhaps even enamel.  Unfortunately however it's a bit antisocial - bashing something with a hammer for hours on end isn't appreciated in my livingroom, not to mention that my table-from-ikea workbench might not take well to it.  Thus it was relegated to the dream pile.
 

Caught in the Current by Melissa Manley

 
Today however I discovered Melissa Manley's beautiful chased and raised sculptural bowls.  The contrast between smooth, translucent, bright vitreous enamel over shapley forms and the grungy, organic texture grown by electroforming on copper 'branches' gives her raised vessels uniquely submarine feel that I love.  

 "...the copper branches I made which I later threaded  through the holes at the edge..." from The Making of a Vessel

Even more wonderfully, she's shared the process used to create the piece Caught in the Current, from copper sheet and rod to finished piece.  I find seeing how others create hugely inspiring - not only are they showing you the techniques and how to apply them, but seeing it from the artist's eye view brings the creative process down from the exalted clouds of imagined studios to the familiar world of banged fingers, firescale and grot.  To me, showing how a piece came into being doesn't detract from the impact of its 'glamour shots' but gives me a deeper appreciation accompanied by a huge burst of admiration for the artist's skill and ingenuity . 
 

 

Robert's Belt Buckle by Melissa Manley

The strange thing however was that it was this relatively simple little piece that clouted me upside the head and said "get some pitch and start hammering!"  Perhaps it's that it represents something achievable to someone starting out, with a little dedication - smaller scale, less specialised equipment required, generally a lower threshold to getting started.  Perhaps also it's the idea that you can incorporate it into other projects while perfecting your technique, rather than creating something that must stand alone.  Perhaps though it's because I've had some really exciting ideas wibbling about in my head for making similar deformed-surface graphical work, and it reminded me of that.  I think it might be a good direction to go in next.

In any case, I had to write this little piece not just to share Melissa Manley's beautiful work, but to remind me to ask if I could have some tools made for my birthday!