The Art Of Floral Embossing Using Copper Sheets Explained

If there is one metal that is very easy to work with and provides a finish that makes an art project really outstanding, then it has to be copper. It is therefore no wonder that artists and creative people tend to make use of this metal in the form of copper sheets. They are able to come up with various creative initiatives like floral embossing and other such three dimensional outputs using some very simple tools and copper sheets.

Let us see what you would require for the art of embossing. The main items are the sheets and the embossing tools.

It is possible to buy such embossing sheets from the hardware or metal stores that you can visit personally or through ordering them online. They are available in different gauge sizes ranging from the thick eight-gauge to the thirty-gauge medium thickness one. For the art of embossing however, you would need the real thin ones in the gauge range of thirty six to forty and if you can find them, even higher ones.

These thin sheets are presented as packs and the ultra thin ones are rolled. You would require the medium-thin variety for your art, as they lend themselves well to detailing and can also hold their shape for a long time.

Coming to the embossing tools, you would do well to experiment with both plastic and wooden tools before selecting the one best suited for you and the one you are most comfortable with. You would require wooden stamps and carbon paper though to transfer designs by pressing them on the copper. The base needs to be such that the copper can be bent and for this you can use some newspapers or even a piece of foam.

The actual design process begins by making the floral design using strong lines. These designs are then transferred to the copper sheet by making use of the carbon paper. Since you will be using the reverse of the sheet, you will need to create concave patterns so that they manifest as convex ones when the sheet is turned. The other aspect is that the impressions that you are creating on the reverse will assume the inverted form on the front. You will need to remember this particularly well if you plan to have some designs featuring alphabets or numbers, so that you are able to get the right designs as conceived by you.

You now need to accurately trace the artwork done with the embossing tool. Please ensure that you check the front of the sheet to make sure you are doing it right. The ideal copper embossing tool is something that has a soft point to enable the design to come out well. However, for more detailed designs, you need to use tools that are pointed. When you are through with the complete design, just flip the sheet and finish anything that is still left with the pointed tool.

The finishing can be done with varnish so that the red copper hue is protected. You may also decide to expose the copper if you wish the artwork to acquire a dark reddish tone after some months.