Kaitlin Beckett is a metal artist working in Naarm/Melbourne Australia. In addition to her painting and sculpting practice, she began teaching herself the art of pewter repoussé in 2014. Her work has appeared in galleries and wunderkammers in Australia, America and the UK, and has been collected throughout the world.
Using a metal tooling technique known as repoussé, the design is pressed into the pewter sheet using a variety of hand tools. Once the design has reached its three-dimensional form, the surface is etched, scratched and marked, then soaked under a patinating solution to stain the metal. When dry, the piece is polished to reveal the bright pewter surface, leaving the oxidised stain in the recessed areas. Staining and polishing creates a tarnished, aged look with tones of blues, browns and golds, and because this process is unpredictable, every piece is completely unique. The finished work is then sealed with crystalline wax to protect the surface.
Pewter is my favourite metal to work with due to its softness and and malleability. It is a bright silver colour with tints of warm golds and cold blues, and it can be pressed into to create delicately raised three-dimensional shapes, stained and aged with patina solution, and cut away to reveal patterned or textured backgrounds. The glass paints used are translucent and reflect the light like an intense glaze, reminiscent of stained glass windows or cloisonné enamel. Sometimes a variety of different gems, crystals and beads are bedded into the surface with antiquing wax.
Inspirations lately: Vintage anatomical illustrations, danse macabre woodcuts, heraldic imagery, medieval tomb effigies, armour and weaponry, alchemical engravings, constellations and antique star maps.
