Foldforming is a technique of metalworking whereby metal is folded, repeatedly forged and annealed, and unfolded; at which stage it generally has a dramatic new three-dimensional form. While alternate spellings abound (e.g., fold-forming, fold forming, Foldforming, and even form-folding, the definitive book "Foldforming" by Charles Lewton-Brain consistently uses the spelling of foldforming as one lowercase word.
Origins
The original technique of foldforming was originated and developed in the late 1980s by Charles Lewton-Brain, an English-born goldsmith who lived and studied in Tanzania, the United States, and Germany before moving to Canada. Outside of the Industrial Revolution, the method represents the first major innovation in metalworking in thousands of years. In the 1980s, the technique of foldforming metal was developed by Charles Lewton-Brain, who from a young age was interested in art and was inspired to pursue his interest in jewelry by his girlfriend's mother. In 1974 he went to the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, where he studied jewelry-making and metalsmithing. After his college career, Christian Gaudernack, one of the NASCAD professors and a Norwegian goldsmith, inspired Lewton-Brain to continue his education, and he went on to attend the Fachhochschule fur Gestalstung, an art and design university in Pforzheim Germany. Lewton-Brain worked as a part-time goldsmith. During his time in the metals program, he was instructed by Klaus Ullrich, a postwar metalsmith. Ullrich was the person that helped Lewton-Brain to develop the foldforming technique. Ullrich emphasized to his students the importance of comprehending the properties of metal in order to understand how metal forms. Charles Lewton-Brain was able to develop his foldforming technique by seeing the characteristics of the metal as it is folded, unfolded, forged, rolled, annealed, and worked on. He brought about a new style of metalworking that had some connection to nature. His technique focused on the metal's natural reaction to being hammered and heated, based on his understanding of the metals elastic and ductile characteristics that were part of his instruction by Klaus Ullrich. Lewton-Brain continued to teach the foldforming technique to people at workshops and at Alberta College of Art and Design as the Head of Metals and Jewelry, having been part of this institute since 1986. By 1991, Lewton-Brain was winning awards for the technique and in 1997 workshops demonstrating the technique were at the core of the "Touch the Future" portion of the JCK International Jewelry Show in Orlando, Florida.
Applications
When foldforming was first developed by Charles Lewton-Brain, it was mostly used in creative artwork or jewelry. Metalsmiths or artists turn a 2-dimensional into a 3-dimensional figure. The outcome of these 3-dimension is determined on how many times the sheet metal is folded, unfolded, annealed, and forged (hammered on an anvil). Artists like Charles Lewton-Brain have added these natural figures as a part of their art and jewelry. Jewelry, such as earrings or necklaces, can be made with foldforming. For some artists or students trying to become artists, like Ball State University graduate student Rachael Jobst, using this technique can be helpful when making leaves or flowers for an art piece. There are other applications to foldforming. Manufacturers have been able to apply this process to help them produce cheaper automobiles. When processing some parts of the vehicle, like the frame and body, the metal that is used go through a process of press-based stamping, a comparatively more complicated method of producing the car's body. With foldforming, manufacturers are able to cut costs and time for manufacturing because of the reduced need for tools and additional operations required with press-based stamping. Also, with foldforming, the metal sheets used take advantage of the flexibility of the material, reducing the chance of cracks and wear.