After a few experiments with stamped soldering, I moved on to a more familiar form folding technique to work with metal once again. Most of the components were created as classroom demos and have been UFOs since them. I took some time to play with beads and created three pendant necklaces using Form folding. Here they are for your viewing pleasure. Necklaces one and two are sold but the third is available.
Form Folding
Form folding is one of the techniques of forming sheet metal. You can read about more metal work techniques on my post on “Introduction to sheet metal jewellery.” In form folding, we create forms and structures through folding, pressing, hammering and annealing the metal repeatedly. The recorded origin of this technique can be traced to the mid eighties making it as old as me. However I suspect that the technique may have existed long before that. Bowl fold, leaf fold, T fold and ruffles are some of the popular folds. Several variations exist as well. The book by Charles Lewton-Brain showcases several intricate folds. However ,the method is very simple and with a few rightly placed hits of the hammer will yield beautiful organic forms. Check out this video from Beaducation to learn a couple of forming techniques.
Pendant necklaces with Form Folding
The first necklace that you see above is titled Mermaid’s jewel. The scalloped dome could be a jewel that a mermaid would wear on her ears or on her breasts. I wondered if I should make it blue or blue green and then realised that I didn’t have to give into the popular idea that a mermaid should be blue in colour. Any idea when did we start colouring and portraying mermaids and mermen in blue colour?
The second necklace has a copper pendant that has been folded like a fan using a T form. Both the beads on the necklace and the shell pendant have been looped using rose gold artisan wire. The metal component is altered using patina inks and tints. I found balancing of the grays and coppers on this piece to be very tough. It took about 5 attempts before I got this one right.
The last of the form folded metal pendant necklaces is the Autumnal leaf necklace in copper. Form folded copper leaves are one of my favourite jewellery components. I love making and using them in my work. I typically make necklaces that are heavy with beads. However, as I wanted this one to be light, I have created a beaded chain using readymade chain links. Treating chain links like jump rings adds versatility to them, allowing for several design possibilities.
I hope you enjoyed seeing three different examples of form folded components and their application in this post. I will show more in the next post. Do tell me what you think. Have you tried form folding before?
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