Laurie C.

These pieces are unique works of repoussé art by Laurie C. For additional information or to purchase, please contact Archive Designs at 541-607-6581

Laurie C. is an artist working primarily in copper, using chase and repoussé to create unique sculptural and architectural pieces.

The process of chase and repoussé is is a metalworking technique in which a malleable metal, such as copper, is ornamented or shaped by hammering from the reverse side. There are few techniques that offer such diversity of expression while still being relatively economical.

Chasing is the opposite technique to repoussé, and the two are used in conjunction to create a finished piece.
While repoussé is used to work on the reverse of the metal to form a raised design on the front, chasing with chisels and hammers is used to refine the design on the front of the work by grooving the metal.

The techniques of repoussé and chasing utilise the plasticity of metal, forming shapes by degrees. There is no loss of metal in the process, as it is stretched locally and the surface remains continuous. The process is relatively slow, but a maximum of form is achieved, with one continuous surface of sheet metal of essentially the same thickness. Direct contact of the tools used is usually visible in the result, providing a richly textured surface.

A famous contemporary sculpture created with this technique is the Statue of Liberty in Upper New York Bay. The statue was formed by copper repoussé in sections using wooden structures to shape each piece during the hammering process.
A second example of monumental copper repoussé sculpture is Portlandia by Raymond Kaskey, which was installed in 1985 in downtown Portland, Oregon.