Luna Mouse – Eastern Repoussé + 3D Filigree Necklace

I created “Luna” as a demonstration for my online Eastern Repoussé course to show how chasing overlapping and undercut relief can be translated into realistic features such as ears, eyes, hands, or paws. For years I’ve explained that the way I overlap and undercut abstracted spirals and leaf shapes in my repoussé work are the same way I achieve tendrils of hair coming across the eyes and face in portraiture and the way I hammer lettering as a level of relief on top of wings and sunbursts, all from the same sheet of metal. It was often difficult for people new to the technique of Eastern repoussé to see the possibilities. Since many students wanted to hammer realistic or whimsical animal designs, I captured exactly how I achieve those results on video as a permanent part of my course. Luna, her whiskers, and her flower are all part of the same sheet of sterling silver. To increase her dimensionality, I folded the edges of the sheet over, another nuanced technique I teach in the course.

 I used the sculptural filigree process I’ve developed to give Luna a nest from which to recline. Combining seemingly different techniques into the same composition can be tricky, but it’s one of my superpowers.