Copper Chased Pendant

by Tom & Kay Benham

Stretch your skills using an easy technique.

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To us, chasing and repoussé provide one of the best and least expensive forms of therapy. As your chasing tool glides along the metal surface, everyday stress fades away. The heavier hammer blows on the dapping tools during repoussé provide a release for any lingering aggression. At the end of the session, you come out of your trance worry-free, with a clear mind, not to mention a unique piece of jewelry. As gem cutters, we find that when we're "in the groove," the feeling is comparable to what we experience when grinding a cabochon and we feel "one with the stone."

We use a small pitch pot that is the ideal size for creating small scale jewelry pieces. We find that adding dimension and textures to our work transforms the ordinary to the extraordinary.