Anticlastic Raising and forming
with Rauni Higson

Course: Anticlastic Raising & Forming 
Date:  19-21 August 2026 (residential)
Price:    £850
Tutor:    Rauni Higson
Objective: To learn the foundations of Anticlastic Raising & Forming, a metalworking technique that creates elegant, curved forms in sheet metal, particularly those with two opposing curvatures.
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Aim of the course               

This 3-day course is for people who want to get started or learn more about Anticlastic Raising & Forming. 

We’ll work together through a series of carefully designed exercises to really open up the technique for you. You’ll quickly learn how to put Anticlastic Raising & Forming into practice, using a minimum of tools, several of which we’ll make as we go along. 

By the end of the course, you’ll be confidently raising and forming anticlastic pieces to develop your own way of using this fabulous technique, in your own creative way, furthering your own designs.

 

During the course participants will: 

 

  • Gain a practical understanding of the technique
  • Work through a series of hammering exercises in copper, which introduce new concepts one at a time
  • Build confidence and hammering skills step by step
  • Make simple tools that you can keep for future use
  • Learn how to create templates for their own designs and experiment with creating their own Anticlastic forms

FAQs

Why Bishopsland?
We offer the time and space to develop your skills alongside a community of other makers in similar situations to yourself.  Swap stories of life as a designer-maker, share ideas, challenges and solutions. We allow plenty of time for communal discussions and relaxation so, although you will be joining us to learn, we aim to also provide a fun and enjoyable community atmosphere. Our inherent understanding of silversmithing and the expert nature of the tutors leading each workshop mean that the course will directly feed into your practice.  Tutors will taylor their teaching and provide detailed 121 feedback to as to maximise the return on your time and financial investment. 
Who is this course designed for?
You will be an intermediate maker with prior experience of creating jewellery and objects in a workshop setting.  We will induct you in our workshop practices and the tools/machines that you will use during the course. An understanding of annealing, cutting and basic hammer skills is required. It’s about learning and understanding the technique, not making a finished object, although participants may create finished pieces depending on their progression.
How is this course tailored to my needs?
This 3-day course is designed to empower metalsmiths to get started or learn more about Anticlastic Raising & Forming, so that they can use this fascinating technique in their own creative practice. The teaching style is a combination of exercises that build incrementally, from first principles to more advanced, and reacting to participants’ development, to make fast progress. 

A key takeaway will be that you will have gained confidence in your hammer skills, not only in Anticlastic Forming, but your hammer skills in general will be much improved.

Course outline
Day 1: Wednesday 19 August 2026

 

 On the first day of the course you will recevie an introduction and overview of the course.

  • View examples of Anticlastic forms, and actual pieces.
  • Demo of exercise 1 (first anticlasting)
  • Tool making demo and exercise (so each person has their own wooden tools to use during the course and can take home)
  • Work on first anticlastic piece using own tools
  • Demo of exercise 2 (anticlasting a longer parallel strip)
Day 2: Thursday 20 August 2026

 

 On the second day, we will strat with a tool modification/development demo and exercise.

  • Demo and exercise 3 (anticlasting a tapered strip)
  • Demo and exercise 4 (tapered strip, spiral form, plus transferring the Generator and Axial curves)
Day 3: Friday 21 August 2026

 

 Today, you will learn how to figure out templates and blanks for your own designs – demo and presentation

  • In the final exercise, participants wil create a template for their own design, and develop their own forms
Materials and tools list for participants
Materials required  Participant to bring/buy Bishopsland/Tutor to supply
 
  • The best thing is to work in 0.7mm Copper sheet for the exercises. Each person will need a sheet no less than 20cm square. 30cm square would be better. 

    If people want to work in silver they can bring their own, 0.7 or 0.8mm sheet sterling is fine, but copper is fine for the course. 

  • Sketchbook and pen/pencil
  • Own hand tools if you have specific favourites
  • A calculator/or phone 
  • Any Raising hammers and Creasing hammers, we can go through all the possibilities. Bring any, even old, rusty ones, any that you think may not work. We can possibly adapt them.
  • Tutor/Bishopsland to supply hammers 
  • Pieces of wood
  • Specialist tools

 

 

 

 

 

Accommodation
This is a residential course with all teaching delivered within Bishopsland’s purpose-designed silversmithing and jewellery workshops. You will be staying in our student houses, which are a short walk from the workshops.  The houses are Grade II listed cottages.  They are basically but comfortably decorated and furnished.  Rooms vary from single to double. The accommodation is offered as a convenient, and low cost, option for staying locally.

Your course fee includes 3-nights accommodation (arrive Tuesday, depart Friday once the course finishes).

Is financial assistance available?
Unfortunately, Bishopsland cannot discount or provide financial assistance to cover the course fee or your material costs.  

There are organisations who might be able to provide funding. We recommend you research grants available through The Goldsmiths Centre, Heritage Crafts or The Benevolent Society.

Next steps
Please go to the booking page.  Once your booking is made, you will receive a confirmation email. In the run up to the course next August, you will receive full joining instructions.
Contact us
For all questions related to this course, please contact Claire Murdoch: c.murdoch@bishopsland.org.uk 

Lastly, we are looking forward to welcoming you to Bishopsland.

Rauni Higson

Rauni Higson

Silversmith

 

Rauni Higson is a leading British Silversmith, known for her distinctive sculptural work, often responding to and inspired by the natural world and landscape. Much of her work is made to commission, for celebration and commemoration; contemporary designs created using traditional silversmithing techniques, principally by forging and hammer-forming sheet silver. She set up her studio in the dramatic landscape of Snowdonia in 1997, after training at Lahti Design Institute in Finland, her mother’s native country. She is passionate about sharing skills.

Her work is in many collections, including the V&A Museum, six pieces in the Goldsmiths’ Company Collection, the National Museum of Wales, and commissions include a Processional Cross for Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, the Prince Phillip Challenge Trophy for Henley Royal Regatta.

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