June 1998
THE INNOVATORS, PART IV:
Charles Lewton-Brain: Goldsmith, Inventor, Teacher, Author, Publisher,
Web Master
Breaking traditions, sharing the results
by Alan Revere
At age 42 he has invented a totally new way of thinking about metal.
He has written and self-published several unique jewelry books and has
created a highly successful jewelry-maker's Web site.
He heads the jewelry/metals program at Canada's Alberta College of
Art and Design. He travels around the world teaching an array of
metalsmithing and jewelry skills to some of today's most creative
artisans.
His own designs have been exhibited widely, and together with wife
Dee Fontans he operates a private center for jewelry education.
The list of Charles Lewton-Brain's accomplishments goes on and on,
just as his work continues to expand like the universe.
Lewton-Brain was born in England, grew up in Tasmania, studied in
Germany and the U.S. and now lives in Canada. He is one of the most
knowledgeable, most celebrated and most accessible metalsmiths in North
America. Above all, his most significant contribution has been to invent
a way of working metal that never existed before: fold-forming.
As amazing as it may seem, nobody ever worked with metal this way in
the more-than-10,000-year history of the craft. Fold-forming is truly a
new species derived from two disparate parents: the Japanese art of
origami combined with traditional techniques of metalsmithing. All of
the related procedures, which now approach 100 forms, are executed with
a minimum of equipment: a rolling mill, a few hammers and a couple of
stakes.
Fold-forming Metal
The concept is to fold and crease metal, as you would paper, and then
selectively forge, form, roll and unfold it to produce light, elegant
volumetric shapes.
Fold-forming is based on metal's inherent physical characteristics.
Therefore, the process and the product derive from the material's
natural plasticity, ductility and elasticity.
The procedures for fold-forming include a series of techniques that
allow rapid development of three- dimensional surfaces and structures.
The dynamic and fascinating shapes created through this system are
unachievable by any other method. The technique can be used to create
complex high-relief forms and to resemble chased, constructed and
soldered forms. All are produced from single sheets of almost any metal
in a matter of minutes.
High Energy, High Creativity
It doesn't take long, when in the presence of this hyperactive,
red-headed whiz kid, to appreciate his genius. Lewton-Brain is a
high-energy problem solver who always looks for something else to figure
out.
With a scientist's systematic approach, an inventor's inquisitiveness
and an artist's eye, he has already carved a name for himself in the
history of metalwork. Fold-forming has been recognized internationally
as a new approach to metalsmithing. In 1990, Paul Craddock, the head of
the British Museum Research Lab, recognized fold-forming as a new
approach to working metals without precedent. In 1991 Lewton-Brain
received a Rolex Award based on his discovery and development of
fold-forming. And in 1997, the JCK International Jewelry Show in Orlando
featured Lewton-Brain's fold-forming demonstrations in its "Touch
the Future" pavilion.
Now, almost 15 years after the invention of fold-forming, hundreds of
designers and metalsmiths around the world integrate some aspect of it
into their work.
Lewton-Brain received a formal education in metals while maintaining
a childlike drive to explore the world around him. He was trained in
Pforzheim, Germany, with Klaus Ullrich, a celebrated designer, master
goldsmith and master silversmith. Ullrich's singular mastery placed him
in the forefront of post- war German jewelry techniques. In the 1950s,
Ullrich pioneered the philosophy of exploration and exploitation of
traditional and non-traditional metals for jewelry. He suggested that
one first must understand metal and then gently guide it to do what
comes naturally. The results contain, by definition, a natural beauty.
"See what the metal wants. Listen to it and then release its
expression," Ullrich taught.
This approach is opposite that of commercial jewelry manufacturing,
which seeks to impose form upon material.
After Germany, Lewton-Brain transported his research the State
University of New York New Paltz. His master's thesis was the product of
codifying the basics of fold-forming.
No Secrets
Forever the non-conformist, Lewton-Brain has broken another accepted
tradition in this industry: he gives information away freely. He has
committed himself to sharing and helping build a community of
metalsmiths. "I made a decision a long time ago, particularly with
fold-forming, that I wanted to give it away, so it could be used by as
many people as possible. The secrecy shrouding so many techniques is
evidence of small minds trying to protect small properties."
But for Lewton-Brain, who so obviously loves his work, why shouldn't
he give it away? After all, if you find a great toy, you want to share
it with a friend. Work, play - there's no difference to Lewton-Brain.
Winston Churchill understood, saying, "Those whose work and play
are one, are fortune's favored children."
....
Alan Revere is a master goldsmith who received training in the
famed goldsmithing program in Pforzheim, Germany. He is an award-winning
jewelry designer and director of the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts, San
Francisco, CA.
