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Activities / Pembarthi Metal Craft / Pembarthi Wall Hanging

Pembarthi Wall Hanging

Pembarthi-Inspired Embossed Metal Wall Hanging

Level
Intermediate
Duration
3 - 5 hours
Budget
₹432 – ₹1,047
Age
14+
State
Telangana

Materials

  • Disposable aluminium foil tray (half size, flat base)
  • Backing board, 6 x 8 in (15 x 20 cm), 3 mm thick
  • Black acrylic paint
  • Clear craft glue
  • Masking tape, 24 mm
  • Natural jute cord for the hanging loop
  • Dry ballpoint pen (one that no longer writes) and a spoon
  • Mouse pad or folded felt, paper, pencil, ruler, soft cloth
  • Old scissors and thin gloves

Steps

  1. Learn the idea and set up a safe, stable workspace
    Pembarthi artisans in Telangana emboss brass sheet by hand with many small tools. This is an inspired-by exercise: you will emboss thin aluminium foil with a ballpoint pen and a spoon. Work on a steady table with newspaper on top. Wear thin gloves while cutting, because cut metal edges are sharp. An adult should supervise anyone under 16.
  2. Cut a 15 x 20 cm piece from the flat base of a foil tray
    Cut the flat bottom out of an aluminium tray with old scissors and press it flat with your palm. Measure and mark a rectangle 15 cm by 20 cm (6 x 8 in) with the pen and a ruler. Cut along the lines. Fold all four edges 5 mm over with your fingertips and press them flat with the back of a spoon, so no cut edge is left sharp.
    Tip: Keep your cutting hand low and slow. Foil sheets cut easily, and they bite when they slip.
  3. Draw your design on paper first
    Cut a piece of paper to the same size, 15 x 20 cm. Draw a simple peacock or a flowering vine inside a border 1 cm from the edge, using clear, plump shapes. For a peacock: an oval body 5 cm tall, a small head, and a fan of five feathers, each ending in a dot. Draw with a pencil and finish with a marker so the lines are bold.
  4. Tape the paper onto the foil and rest it on a soft pad
    Place the foil face up on a mouse pad or a folded felt or towel. Lay the paper drawing on top and tape two edges down with masking tape. The pad must be soft so the pen makes a groove. Check that the taped edges are flat and that the design sits at least 1 cm inside the folded edge of the foil.
  5. Trace every line with a ballpoint pen to press it into the foil
    With a dry ballpoint pen, press along every line of the drawing firmly, as if writing hard, so the pattern is pressed through the paper into the foil. Lift one corner of the paper now and then to check that the lines show on the foil. Then remove the paper. Common mistake: pressing so hard that the pen tears the foil. If it crunches, ease off.
    Tip: Press lines in the order the shapes touch, working from the centre outward.
  6. Add dots and texture with the blunt end of a pencil
    Use the blunt back end of a pencil to press rows of dots, about 4 mm apart, in the border and at the tip of every feather. Press a line of small marks, like short dashes, along the edges of the body. Texture and repetition are the heart of Pembarthi work. Check your work in angled light: every dot should show as a tiny dent.
  7. Turn the foil over and raise the main shapes from the back
    Flip the foil so the pressed lines face down on the pad. Rub the back of a spoon in slow circles inside each large shape, the body and the feathers, with firm pressure, until the shape rises like a gentle cushion on the front. Check the front often. Stop before the foil stretches thin. Raised and sunken areas make the pattern catch the light.
  8. Rub black paint into the grooves and wipe the high points
    Put a pea-sized blob of black acrylic on your fingertip and rub it thinly over the front, pushing it into the pressed lines. Within one minute, wipe the surface firmly with a soft cloth, so the paint stays in the grooves and comes off the raised parts. The metal shines and the design turns dark. Work in two or three small sections so the paint does not dry before you wipe.
  9. Glue the foil onto a 6 x 8 inch backing board
    Let the paint dry for 15 minutes. Spread a thin layer of craft glue over the backing board, right to the edges, and lay the foil on it, folded edges down. Press from the centre outwards with a clean cloth for 1 minute, then put a heavy book on top for 30 minutes. Common mistake: too much glue, which pushes up bubbles under the foil.
  10. Add a hanging loop and clear away
    On the back of the board, tape a 25 cm length of jute cord in a loop, with both ends stuck down with strong tape about 2 cm from the top edge, and a second strip of tape over them. Hang it from a small nail or an adhesive hook. Wipe up glue, close the paint and put the leftover foil in a bag for later.

Sustainability

Medium - reuses a metal foil sheet or a baking tray. Inspired-by exercise: real Pembarthi brass sheet work is hammered by hand with hundreds of small tools

Safety

Cut metal edges are very sharp, so file or fold them and wear gloves; hammering needs a stable surface; supervise anyone under 16