"Repoussé" sculpture dates back many centuries. Small statuettes and reliefs were fashioned by the Greeks. The Romans employed it extensively as a medium for their garden ornaments, vases and statuary.
I studied repoussé with James Caudle, a nationally known artist after he retired from his position at American University in Washington, D.C. The process of creating repoussé sculpture is very relaxing, the rhythm of pounding a hammer into soft metal. Shaping, bending, and reshaping is done by hammering from both the front and the back. I enjoy the freedom to shape, re-shape and bend the material, creating an original, one of a kind, sculpture.
The thickness of the metal sheet is approximately 1/8 of an inch. The tools required for working the soft metal consist largely of ball pein hammers of assorted sizes.