Break it down! Cut (almost) anything using hammer & hardie with Anabella Wewer

Hammer & hardie has gotten a bad reputation. It is thought of as advanced technique, or just hard on your wrists because it is a heavy hammer, after all! And that impossibly thin hardie edge to aim for? It seems daunting. In this online course, Anabella Wewer will show you that it is not at all difficult, and all it takes is understanding a few basic principles and practice. She demonstrates that this can be a beginner’s tool, one to be understood and embraced from the start — or whenever you are ready to take the leap!

In this course you will learn:

Anabella demonstrates cutting smalti and marble, of course, but you will see her cut porcelain tile, Litovi, hard and soft materials from the hardware store, foraged rocks, and even crockery, in up close detail, all with her favorite 950 grams hammer.

“I have never met anyone who only uses a hammer to develop wrist pain,” Anabella likes to say, and she’s learned from masters who’ve been at it for over 40 years. She uses hammer and hardie exclusively in her studio, and only picks up nippers as a last resort (and to cut slate, or very precious materials).

You will learn to hold the hammer in the best position for balance, and to let gravity do most of the work for you. Anabella will show you that with proper technique, even a light hammer can cut the hardest of materials (within the scope of materials that can be cut without a saw), and you will see her switch hammers to a bricklayer’s hammer when in doubt (still cutting very successfully).

You will watch Anabella work in real time cutting trapezoids (keystones), triangles, sticks, and more. She shows you how to cut material with the least amount of waste (because who wants to waste any precious smalti?!) by calling attention to the geometry of material, in a very simple way.

This course shows you a clear path to confidently approach any material and cut it down to size (and shape!) to free you to focus on the design aspects of your work without the limitations of what nippers can cut (pain free!). The only thing we can’t do is watch you practice, but practicing is the only way to get rid of that feeling that says you will hurt yourself with the hammer — you won’t. Trust us. Just take a deep breath, reset, and be present. You can always come back and watch Anabella cutting different materials and pick up new details before you go back to your stump to practice some more. You’ll be cutting everything with confidence in no time!