Immerse yourself in the fascinating world of artistic copperwork alongside Simon Charbonnier, a coppersmith renowned for his exceptional expertise and sensitive approach to metalwork.
During this training, you will discover traditional copperwork techniques—hammering, planishing, stamping, soldering, and finishing—while exploring the creative potential of copper, brass, and bronze. This immersion will offer you a rare experience: learning an ancestral craft in direct contact with a master copperworker.
The discovery of coppersmithing provides an understanding of the history and technical foundations of working with metals such as copper, brass, and pewter. Participants will have the opportunity to acquire practical skills in coppersmithing, learning essential techniques such as hammering, soldering, stamping, polishing, and finishing. They will master the traditional tools and techniques specific to this art, in order to create both utilitarian and decorative pieces.
The goal is to combine tradition and modernity in the creation of unique objects, incorporating innovations into ancestral metalworking techniques. Finally, each participant will create a personal project: a finished metalwork that combines technical expertise and artistic expression.
At the end of the training, the trainee will be able to:
Use the fundamental techniques of coppersmithing
Understand the properties of the metals used
Create one or more pieces of coppersmithing
Develop an artistic sensibility around volume and material
Introduction to Coppersmithing and Discovery of Materials
Morning
Introduction to Coppersmithing: history and characteristics of the metals used (copper, pewter, brass, silver)
Introduction to basic tools: mallets, hammers, chisels, saws, pliers, and soldering tools
The basics of metalworking: cutting, hammering, and shaping metal
Afternoon
Practical exercises: discovery of basic modeling and shaping techniques. Creation of a small metal part, such as a plaque or a small decorative object
Application of basic cold welding concepts to assemble metal elements.
Forming and Joining Techniques
Morning
Welding and Brazing Techniques: Explanation of different metal joining methods
Drawing and Spinning: Learn to transform the shape of metal by creating curves and reliefs using traditional techniques
Afternoon
Practical Exercise: Create a small sculpture or utilitarian object using welding and spinning, and create volumetric forms
Introduction to the technique of forming shapes for decorative or functional objects
Advanced Techniques and Surface Work
Morning
Finishing Techniques: Smoothing, Polishing, and Creating Textures
Exploration of the use of tools to create reliefs and decorative patterns in metal
Afternoon
Application of polishing and patination techniques to give the object a neat and durable finish
Practical Exercises: Create textures and reliefs in a small Piece
Creation of a personalized project
Morning
Choice of personal project: each participant defines an object to be created (e.g., a tray, a vase, a bowl, or a metal sculpture).
Form study: development of a concept, creation of the object's design, and development of the work plan.
Afternoon
Project implementation: construction of the piece using the techniques learned (hammering, welding, stamping).
Individualized monitoring and support to adjust and perfect metalworking techniques.
Finalization and presentation of projects.
Morning
Finishing: application of patina, polishing, and presentation of final touches to the created pieces.
Exhibition preparation tips: presentation and enhancement of the metal pieces.
Afternoon
Presentation of creations: each participant presents their final project, with an explanation of the techniques used.
Group discussion and feedback on the creations: analysis of the projects and Assessment of skills acquired during training
Workshop organization
Simon Charbonnier is a French coppersmith, goldsmith, and ironworker, a master in the art of working copper, pewter, silver, and brass. For over thirty years, he has crafted metals with rare rigor and sensitivity, forging a constant link between artisanal tradition and contemporary expression.
Trained by master coppersmiths, he perpetuates a precious expertise that he enriches with personal research, always guided by a desire for innovation and beauty. His work is distinguished by a formal rigor where each curve, each polished or hammered surface reveals a subtle harmony between technical precision and expressive power.
His creations, whether tableware, artistic ironwork, or unique pieces commissioned by museums or places of worship, embody a metalwork art that is at once understated, powerful, and poetic. It features a refined aesthetic, attention to detail, and a unique ability to make materials vibrate. For him, metal becomes a living surface, capturing light, evoking breath, revealing beauty in the smallest relief.
His work subtly explores the tensions between structure and lightness, permanence and movement, memory and invention. It demonstrates technical virtuosity at the service of a singular artistic vision.
Received several awards for the excellence of his work, Simon Charbonnier has notably received the Grand Prix Régional des Métiers d'Art d'Aquitaine – in 1997 for tradition, then in 2003 for contemporary creation – as well as the Prix Régional du Club Dunhill-Prestige in 1998. These distinctions recognize both the quality of his technique and the depth of his artistic approach.
Today, Simon Charbonnier passionately shares his expertise, with a commitment to the vibrant and demanding transmission of this artistic craft. He trains and supports those who wish, in turn, to give shape to metal and engage in dialogue with this untamed material.
Price(s) including the cost of training, accommodation and full board, materials and personal protective equipment.
