Finished artwork: copper embossed clock

I made this copper embossed clock recently as a birthday present for my partner and I’m pleased to say it has gone down very well! Apparently it’s ‘the best birthday present ever’ 😄

The design is by my partner, it’s the monogram he uses on his artwork, and he will be using the clock in his studio.

It was great to be working with copper again. It is a tougher metal to work with, but I enjoy the challenge of getting the pressure and detailing just right with this metal.

Above you can see the various stages of creating the clock. Rather than adding numbers, I added four bold ‘rivet’ style details for the four quarters of the clock, and smaller ‘rivets’ for the remaining numerals. These reflected the dots in my partner’s monogram, and kept the design focused on the monogram too.

I have been experimenting with background textures in my embossing recently, and I have really been enjoying this scribble technique. It’s got a lot of depth to it and I’m really pleased with the texture it has created.

I had a few options for finishing this piece. I could have left it plain copper, or added an aging technique with black acrylic paint. The other option was to add a verdigris wax. I experimented with the verdigris wax on a spare piece of copper, and whilst I liked the effect, I decided it wasn’t the right finish for this piece, so I left it plain black. I will experiment a bit more with the verdigris finish in the future though.

My partner is a marvel at making and decorating beautiful frames, so he’s said he will add a frame to the clock, making it a joint piece of artwork. I’ll update when he does so.

If you’re interested in seeing my partner’s work, then you can find his new site at https://ko-fi.com/amrcarvedart and he will be at the Summer Meet the Maker event at the Land of Oak and Iron Heritage Centre this coming Sunday, 3rd August. You can find out more about the event on the Land of Oak and Iron website.