Basic Techniques

To demonstrate how metal acts, a chunk of clay is drawn and pointed. First, square up the faces by laying it on the anvil flat and hammering, then rotate 90° and repeat until all the faces are flat. To draw a taper, hammer starting from a few inches from the end, all the way to the end of the piece. To maintain a constant width, turn it 90° periodically, making sure to square up the sides when they show irregularities. To make a point, tilt the piece up to half the desired angle, so the anvil and hammer faces act on both sides at once. Here, the clay has a taper on one end and a scroll on the other. Tapers can be formed in two directions, by flipping the piece 90 degrees every so often. Students were allowed to experiment with the clay before picking out pieces of metal to start practicing with.