Repousse Metal Working and Name Symmetry

Name Symmetry

6th Grade

by Allison M.

Making designs using our names was our goal as well as learning how to color our designs using markers in a different way. Each started with a square of 8 ½" (21.6 cm) thin Copy Paper. We folded in half once, twice, and then folded into small triangles. In one of these triangles we drew our name using five or six letters filling up the triangle space as much as possible with our letters. We outlined in regular-sized Sharpie Fine Point Markers. We opened up the triangle and flipped it so the drawn outline showed through to another triangle and we outlined the first lettered triangle into the second triangle and so on.

The marker coloring was colored in and we went over the edges of spaces with another color to give them a sort of undulating feel of going in and out with color. It was so interesting to see how each name gave such a different, unique design.

Metal and Glass Globs

7th and 8th grades

Repousse metal working was the first stage of our project. We cut out our 8x8 inch (20.3 x 20.3 cm) metal into an interesting shape. Some of us cut our metal (or Tooling Foil) into two pieces and used both pieces to make the design. We learned how to "counter-repousse" to emphasize our patterns and add texture. The metal shapes was traced onto a folded 12x18 inch (30.5 x 45.7 cm) piece of black Construction Paper and a window was cut to fit our metal. The metal was taped to this cut window.

With Colored Pencils we continued our metal design out onto the black paper. The folded black paper was glued together and glass globs were attached to the finished metal work with White Glue to give a relief effect. These turned out quite lovely with the patterns, metal textures and the relief globs.

Also see:

Copper Tooling Relief - Given tools, teacher demonstrations, class periods, examples, discussion, and visuals, the students will create a copper tooling based on a design or image that they create.

Mycenaean Mask Foil Relief - Make make personal plaque, coin, or memorial design in copper foil using the repoussé technique.

Foil tooled Masks - Students create their own repousse mask with tooling foil and then decorate using mixed materials.

African Granary Doors Foil Collage - In relief, on copper foil, students create symbols representing both their identity and their treasure. The foil was then mounted on cardboard.

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