Metallic Imprints

After visiting Haiti twice to take photos for my BFA senior show, I fell in love with the people, culture, and vibrant art of the Haitians. One of the art forms that I absolutely adore is Haitian metal art—truly the definition of upcycling. Beautiful, intricate art is made by flattening and cutting old steel drums and creating designs in the metal with chisels and ball-peen hammers. Texture on the front and back of the metal is then added with chisels and awls of various sizes. Because of the sporadic availability of electricity in most areas of Haiti, power tools are not used.

I shared a slideshow presentation with students that introduced the history of Haiti and some facts about the country. I also shared photography from my visits. I included background on how the tradition of Haitian metal art began. Georges Liautaud, a blacksmith born in 1899 in Croix des Bouquets, first made crosses for nearby cemeteries.

An American painter named DeWitt Peters is credited with bringing Liautaud to the attention of the international arts community in 1953. Peters found his true calling when he formed Le Centre dʼArt in Port-au-Prince in 1944 for the purpose of supporting and promoting Haitian artists.

Next, I reviewed two terms important to metal work: chasing—carving and making a mark on the front of the metal, and repoussé—turning the metal over and using tools to hammer or press the design from the back, creating a raised design on the front. Most of the designs in Haiti feature negative space cutouts. I modified the process for my students: They used 38-gauge metal tooling in place of steel drums, and bamboo skewers, craft knives, and plastic and wooden tools instead of chisels, awls, and ball-peen hammers.

Students researched traditional Haitian metal art designs for inspiration. I encouraged them to create designs that were unique and personal to them. They began by drawing designs in their sketchbooks. I asked them to create 6 x 6" (15 x 15 cm) designs that touched the top, bottom, and both sides of the square, or to create a design that included a border at least ½" (1 x 1 cm) to 1" (2.5 x 2.5 cm). I suggested keeping the design simple because it would be embellished with both chasing and repoussé.

I also required students to plan out areas that would be negative space and to mark them with an X. They would later cut these areas out with a craft knife.

After I approved their sketches, students cut them out. First, they placed the metal on cardboard, then they mounted the sketch on the metal with masking tape. Cardboard provides the resistance needed to make an imprint of the design on the metal.

Students traced over their designs with a ballpoint pen. Once the design is traced, an imprint shows up on the metal. Next, they placed a piece of felt on top of the cardboard (for cushioning so the corrugated cardboard won’t make an imprint in the soft metal) and traced over the imprint with a bamboo skewer. This is where chasing takes place. Students went back to their sketches and planned out where they would do additional chasing, repoussé, and double repoussé. I encouraged them to make simple patterns made from lines, shapes, and dots.

Once a sufficient and aesthetically pleasing amount of texture was created on the metal, students used india ink on the front of the design to enhance the chasing marks. They painted the entire front of the piece with ink and quickly wiped it off with a cloth or paper towel. The india ink gives the metal an aged look. Students then used liquid glue to affix their metal art to black construction paper, which had been previously glued to a square of white tagboard paper. This method makes the art easy to display.

Throughout this process, I provided separate handouts that further described the four tools used to create chasing and repoussé, the steps involved in tracing the designs, and how to ink and mount the piece. Email me if you’re interested in them!