North Carolina Society of Goldsmiths
Magical Metal Manipulation: Foldforming Workshop
Taught by Betty Helen Longhi
April 1-2, 2006 from 9am - 4:00pm at Monnda Welch's studio in Pittsboro.
Cost: $150 for members (you must be a member to participate). Add $20 to your fee to join NCSG.
Fold Forming is a process for rapidly forming sheet metal using the metal's natural response to various actions such as folding, hammering, rolling in the mill and forging. Charles Lewton-Brain who developed this process refers to this method as "Forming Using Metal Characteristics". Using just a few tools, the student will explore the metal's natural plasticity and ductility to quickly create seemingly complex forms. We will work primarily in copper, however, the process is applicable to all the nonferrous metals including brass, bronze, silver and gold. Students will concentrate on making a large number of samples by many different procedures. These various procedures can later be used to create sculpture, vessels or jewelry.
This process gives the student a real understanding of the working qualities of sheet metal and thus is an excellent workshop for either the beginning metals student or those with previous metalworking experience. Deadline for sign up is March 15; class size is limited to 10 participants.
Betty Helen Longhi is a nationally recognized metalsmith who has worked extensively with forming metal for jewelry and sculpture. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, she also attended Cranbrook Academy of Art and studied with Heikki Seppa. Ms. Longhi has been guest artist at the University of Wisconsin and the Maryland Institute of Art and has taught at Haystack, Parsons School of Design, Penland School, Arrowmont, and many more training centers in the USA and Canada. Additionally, she has written a number of articles and reviews for Metalsmith magazine and has lectured on shell forming for the Society of North American Goldsmiths.
Betty Helen will be giving a slide show of her work at Monnda's studio starting at 5pm on April 1, 2006. Her studio is located at 102 Hudson Hills Road, Pittsboro, NC 27312. Click here for detailed directions.
