Maria Santos-Alcantara

Using repousee and chase techniques, I form pewter sheet into a variety of objects such as, photo frames, mirrors, jewellery boxes, decorative panels, brooches, pendants,  I use a combination of different materials such as enamels, glass and semi precious stones on wood, aluminium or silver as a base structure.   Some of my commissioned work is for large mirrors with decorative pewter surrounds. No two pieces are exactly alike as no casting or pressing is involved. Each piece has been worked individually from my own designs.

Pewter and Silver foil are a relatively new innovation and its malleability enables quite intricate repousse and chase techniques to be used.

Much of the inspiration for my designs comes from the natural world and the flexibility of pewter enables me to recreate the beauty of nature in every small detail.

Modern pewter contains no lead and is made up of  91% tin, 1,5% antimony and 7,5% copper.

Pewter has an enduring quality and since it does not oxidise, it requires no other care than an occasional dust.