Heritage & HopeHandcrafted Metal Art · David Rosborough

Process

From sheet to slate.

Every piece passes through these five steps, in this order, in one pair of hands.

Hands working a metal sheet at the bench, sparks flying
  1. 01

    Listen to the place

    Every piece starts with a place or an object — the Causeway, a tractor, a working boat. David sketches from photographs and from memory, until the silhouette feels right.

  2. 02

    Cut by hand

    The shape is transferred to a flat sheet of chrome-grade metal and cut by hand. No CNC, no laser. The line is human, and the line stays.

  3. 03

    Shape & form

    Folds, hammering, riveting. Sub-pieces are made separately and seated together. The piece begins to catch light.

  4. 04

    Mirror polish

    Hours, sometimes days, of progressive polishing — from coarse abrasive down to the final cloth. The surface is finished when the sky lives in it.

  5. 05

    Set into slate

    Raw slate is selected from local sources, cleaned but never softened. The metal is seated into the stone so it sits like it belongs there. Because it does.