Copper Techniques

Discover the beauty of copper! Cover hot and cold joining techniques, sinking, fold-forming, riveting, brazing, and annealing along with the use of different torches, fabrication, and some surface textures. With guidance, use your creativity to apply and combine techniques to create your own treasures, from bird feeders to garden sculptures. Beginners will enjoy this class, as will experienced metalworkers who want to learn more about copper. $

$60-$125

Craig Triplett forged his first piece of ironwork for a middle school history fair in 1984. Since then, he has been involved in many types of metalwork, from hand-forged Damascus knives to 18th-century potholders, and from copper bird feeders and artwork to hydraulically pressed forms and utilitarian items. His association with the Folk School began in 1997, in a knifemaking class. He has since taken numerous classes in iron and copper and has been an assistant instructor several times in the coppersmithing class led by his father, Robert Triplett. Craig is an active member of the Alabama Forge Council and Artist-Blacksmith's Association of North America, and he has attended and worked on regional and national conferences.

Robert Triplett began working with his hands at an early age, "helping" his father, who was a mechanic. While utilizing his BS in electrical engineering degree in his career, he began woodworking as a hobby. Then, in the 1970s, he began focusing on metal. Over the next forty-five years, he learned about copper, iron, and silver from some extremely talented artists and instructors-many at the Folk School. Robert has taught and assisted classes at the Folk School since 1998. He has been a member of the Artist-Blacksmith's Association of North America (ABANA) for more than thirty-five years, and a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild since 2000.