A Copper Alliance Member
Copper in the Arts
Issue #2: June '07 - Cont'd
Chelsea Stone Livens Up Her Jewelry Designs with Copper
For the past decade, Arizona-based artist Chelsea Stone has been creating unique jewelry that runs the gamut from amusing to extraordinary, but when she started working with copper, her work took on a whole new dimension. Her collected designs have garnered awards, been featured in books and placed her works in more than 50 galleries throughout the United States.
With a master’s degree in jewelry design and metalsmithing from Texas Tech University, Stone began primarily using sterling silver but started incorporating copper into her designs as a way of adding color variation.
“The warmth from the copper contrasting with the cool from the silver was a way for me to expand my color palette,” Stone explains. “The copper patinas beautifully, creating a broad range of colors from brown to deep plum.”
When working with metals, Stone prefers to start the process of design simplistically, manually cutting out shapes and manipulating the design with a hammer. She then shapes and fuses the composition freehand, to form it directly from a flat sheet of eighteen to twenty gauge copper. Once the style comes into shape, she chooses from a multitude of finishes to complete the work—two of the main types that she uses on the copper are enamel and/or patina.
Enamel, a process that is roughly 3500 years old, is the application of a thin layer of colored glass, usually in the form of a paste. It solidifies and forms areas of color after firing in a kiln or oven. This method creates a brightly colored design that sits atop the metal like a protective coating.
The other, patina, is a chemical fading, darkening or aging process applied to the metal. There are two basic ways to achieve this effect. A chloride-based patina gives the copper a green façade while a sulfur-based compound tends to darken the metal to differing shades of brown and in some cases purple.
If this sounds more like sculpture than what you think of as jewelry design, then you get the idea. Stone incorporates complex techniques with designs that bring her creative modern abstract art to life. Her sculptural handcrafted pieces come in silver, copper and gold, accented with handmade glass beads and colorful gemstones. And whether it’s a Kitty-cat pin or a Gator necklace, her work encapsulates a feeling of fun and whimsy.
Stone, who is grateful to be able to make a living doing what she loves, is a full time studio artist who finds the time to instruct metalsmithing and jewelry design classes at Yavapai College and her undergraduate alma mater Northern Arizona University. “Inspiring others to see the possibilities in metal is very rewarding,” says Stone.
Her distinctive jewelry will be on display the first weekend of August at the 38th Annual Park City Kimball Arts Festival held in Park City, Utah. Stone will be displaying her work along with 220 other select artists.
Gator Pin by Chelsea Stone
Photograph courtesy of Chelsea Stone
“The warmth from the copper contrasting with the cool from the silver was a way for me to expand my color palette,” Stone explains. “The copper patinas beautifully, creating a broad range of colors from brown to deep plum.”
When working with metals, Stone prefers to start the process of design simplistically, manually cutting out shapes and manipulating the design with a hammer. She then shapes and fuses the composition freehand, to form it directly from a flat sheet of eighteen to twenty gauge copper. Once the style comes into shape, she chooses from a multitude of finishes to complete the work—two of the main types that she uses on the copper are enamel and/or patina.
Enamel, a process that is roughly 3500 years old, is the application of a thin layer of colored glass, usually in the form of a paste. It solidifies and forms areas of color after firing in a kiln or oven. This method creates a brightly colored design that sits atop the metal like a protective coating.
The other, patina, is a chemical fading, darkening or aging process applied to the metal. There are two basic ways to achieve this effect. A chloride-based patina gives the copper a green façade while a sulfur-based compound tends to darken the metal to differing shades of brown and in some cases purple.
Cat Pin by Chelsea Stone
Photograph courtesy of Chelsea Stone
Stone, who is grateful to be able to make a living doing what she loves, is a full time studio artist who finds the time to instruct metalsmithing and jewelry design classes at Yavapai College and her undergraduate alma mater Northern Arizona University. “Inspiring others to see the possibilities in metal is very rewarding,” says Stone.
Her distinctive jewelry will be on display the first weekend of August at the 38th Annual Park City Kimball Arts Festival held in Park City, Utah. Stone will be displaying her work along with 220 other select artists.
Resources:
To view more of Chelsea Stone’s designs, visit www.eyecandybychelsea.com.
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Judith Johnson: Finding Beauty and Strength in the Art of Reclaimed Copper
Copper seems a perfect medium for an artist whose love of creating is always shiny and new, and whose experiences as a woman, an artist, a mother, and a teacher have matured along with her vision.
Artist Judith Johnson, Lancaster, PA, uses a century and a half old barn as a studio. Scattered among the wide plank worn floor, along with paints, canvas, beads, and brushes are the reclaimed copper treasures she salvages from flea markets, junk yards, and friends—copper wires, parts from old copper lamps, pipes, and other toss offs. Objects that were once beautiful and shiny, dismissed by some consumer somewhere, are given new life by this artist. Johnson, who has made art for the last ten years or so while pursuing a master’s degree in humanities at Penn State University, smiles when she talks about these treasures.
“The idea came when I moved into this 160-year-old home, finding a beautiful patina-encrusted piece of copper laying in the yard,” the artist explains. “Without much thought I transformed that piece into a relief sculpture, featuring celebrated female forms. Captured by the colors of the weathered copper, I went in search of more. As I was browsing through the local junkyard, I found copper floats that were used in back of toilets. Instantly, I transformed them in my mind’s eye into a family of what I call my toilet float family. I took the discarded junk and recycled it into female forms. The symbolism was not lost on me, as most of my work concerns itself with empowering women.”
There is something familiar and accessible in these old objects, and with some imagination, inspiration and the drive to create, Johnson’s treasures become playful sprites that populate her garden, barn, and even her paintings. There is a meditative side to Johnson’s work, too. With copper sheeting, fabric and beads, she created the monumental work, Shrine of the Mundane, a room-sized temple made for reflection.
“I built the shrine's exterior out of discarded copper roofing, old wooden window frames and broken mirrors. The historical presence palpable in the found copper roofing, that is, its weathering, nail holes, dents and the fact that it acted as shelter for homes and churches, gives the shrine a sense of time and place, and locates it historically. The Shrine is a place I made as a way to honor our female ancestors and friends,” Johnson explains. “The inherent spirituality that comes from the fact that this discarded copper once provided shelter means a great deal to me.”
The warmth of the copper as light glows and flickers inside and out is reminiscent of the candlelight imagery of other sacred, more ancient places. Complemented by the softness of fabrics and soft, velvety cushions, the interior wraps the viewer like the affectionate arms of a loving grandmother.
Johnson continues her quest to make art, and salvage those old copper toss offs. You might find her by the roadside one day, picking through scrap that is only scrap for some, but an artwork waiting to happen for Johnson. Copper becomes a renewable resource for the artist; it never gets old.
“It’s the glow, the malleability of copper, that makes it a perfect media for me,” remarks Johnson.
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Shrine of the Mundane by Judith Johnson
Photograph by Marilyn Fox
“The idea came when I moved into this 160-year-old home, finding a beautiful patina-encrusted piece of copper laying in the yard,” the artist explains. “Without much thought I transformed that piece into a relief sculpture, featuring celebrated female forms. Captured by the colors of the weathered copper, I went in search of more. As I was browsing through the local junkyard, I found copper floats that were used in back of toilets. Instantly, I transformed them in my mind’s eye into a family of what I call my toilet float family. I took the discarded junk and recycled it into female forms. The symbolism was not lost on me, as most of my work concerns itself with empowering women.”
There is something familiar and accessible in these old objects, and with some imagination, inspiration and the drive to create, Johnson’s treasures become playful sprites that populate her garden, barn, and even her paintings. There is a meditative side to Johnson’s work, too. With copper sheeting, fabric and beads, she created the monumental work, Shrine of the Mundane, a room-sized temple made for reflection.
“I built the shrine's exterior out of discarded copper roofing, old wooden window frames and broken mirrors. The historical presence palpable in the found copper roofing, that is, its weathering, nail holes, dents and the fact that it acted as shelter for homes and churches, gives the shrine a sense of time and place, and locates it historically. The Shrine is a place I made as a way to honor our female ancestors and friends,” Johnson explains. “The inherent spirituality that comes from the fact that this discarded copper once provided shelter means a great deal to me.”
The warmth of the copper as light glows and flickers inside and out is reminiscent of the candlelight imagery of other sacred, more ancient places. Complemented by the softness of fabrics and soft, velvety cushions, the interior wraps the viewer like the affectionate arms of a loving grandmother.
Johnson continues her quest to make art, and salvage those old copper toss offs. You might find her by the roadside one day, picking through scrap that is only scrap for some, but an artwork waiting to happen for Johnson. Copper becomes a renewable resource for the artist; it never gets old.
“It’s the glow, the malleability of copper, that makes it a perfect media for me,” remarks Johnson.
Coppersmithing in New Bedford
Ray Rose had no intention of working with copper. How his company, Copperlines, came to be is something of a surprising evolution. After working in the textile industry (he ran a dye house) for 25 years near his home in New Bedford, Massachusetts, he knew he needed a creative outlet for his spare time.
One day at a country fair in Vermont, Ray came across a copper obelisk someone made. It piqued his interest and he promptly went home and made a trellis out of copper for his home.
“A neighbor saw it and asked if I could make him one," he said. "Then another person wanted one, and finally a friend suggested I take my copper trellises to the local fairs.” And he did.
The next thing he knew, demand was growing and he branched out to other garden accoutrements. The trellises worked remarkably well within the marine environment at New Bedford. “Because it’s copper, it won’t rot. With wood, if it doesn’t rot, then it needs to be repainted after a while,” he said.
What started off as a side business in 1996 became full time three-and-a half years ago. In retrospect, Ray realized that his parents modeled artistic behavior for him.
“Mom was artsy and I got a lot of inspiration from her. Dad used to rebuild cars and I learned the handiness of welding and torching,” he noted.
These elements have come together in his custom ornamentation, candelabras made of stone and copper, and “wind dancers,” thin copper pieces with an S-bend connected with copper filament that sway in the breeze.
“I like to do things that have movement,” he adds.
He also has special design software that allows him to plot intricate designs on his computer which he then cuts with a plasma cutter. In addition to his own interior and exterior work, Copperlines acts as a supplier for copper fire pits, chimineas, weathervanes and other large pieces.
He fell in love with copper years ago and that’s still his main media. “About 90 percent of my work is with copper and 10 percent is brass,” says Ray, although he prefers copper because it allows him a greater control of color. “I can cover the copper the way I want. I can get red, blue and gold hues depending on what temperature I use to heat it. It’s a beautiful metal.”
Occasionally he’ll use an applied accelerator to complement the patina, though he prefers the natural verdigris that only comes with time.
There’s an irony in that Ray currently rents space for Copperlines in a building that was once a textile plant. He’s expanded his business to the Internet and now he gets orders from across the US and overseas. His folks would be proud.
“My dad was a tin knocker. With all the hammering and pounding I’m doing, I guess I’m like a coppersmith.” He thinks for a moment about that word, smiles and adds, “Yeah, I’m a coppersmith."
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Copper Wind Dancer
Photograph courtesy
of Ray Rose
“A neighbor saw it and asked if I could make him one," he said. "Then another person wanted one, and finally a friend suggested I take my copper trellises to the local fairs.” And he did.
The next thing he knew, demand was growing and he branched out to other garden accoutrements. The trellises worked remarkably well within the marine environment at New Bedford. “Because it’s copper, it won’t rot. With wood, if it doesn’t rot, then it needs to be repainted after a while,” he said.
What started off as a side business in 1996 became full time three-and-a half years ago. In retrospect, Ray realized that his parents modeled artistic behavior for him.
“Mom was artsy and I got a lot of inspiration from her. Dad used to rebuild cars and I learned the handiness of welding and torching,” he noted.
These elements have come together in his custom ornamentation, candelabras made of stone and copper, and “wind dancers,” thin copper pieces with an S-bend connected with copper filament that sway in the breeze.
“I like to do things that have movement,” he adds.
Copper Rain Chain
Photograph courtesy of Ray Rose
He fell in love with copper years ago and that’s still his main media. “About 90 percent of my work is with copper and 10 percent is brass,” says Ray, although he prefers copper because it allows him a greater control of color. “I can cover the copper the way I want. I can get red, blue and gold hues depending on what temperature I use to heat it. It’s a beautiful metal.”
Occasionally he’ll use an applied accelerator to complement the patina, though he prefers the natural verdigris that only comes with time.
There’s an irony in that Ray currently rents space for Copperlines in a building that was once a textile plant. He’s expanded his business to the Internet and now he gets orders from across the US and overseas. His folks would be proud.
“My dad was a tin knocker. With all the hammering and pounding I’m doing, I guess I’m like a coppersmith.” He thinks for a moment about that word, smiles and adds, “Yeah, I’m a coppersmith."
Copper in the Arts: HISTORY
Copper Dead Sea Scroll Displayed for the First Time in America
The famous Copper Dead Sea Scroll that has been intriguing man for decades is on display for the first time in the United States this month at the San Diego Natural History Museum.
Discovered in 11 caves between 1947 and 1952 near the Dead Sea in Israel’s Khirbet Qumran, the Dead Sea Scrolls consist of thousands of fragments that were discovered and pieced together into over 900 separate documents. Most were created from parchment and papyrus reed, but the Copper Scroll is considered one of the greatest pieces of copper-archeological finds, and the most interesting.
The Copper Scroll, comprised of thin sheets of bronze written in Hebrew with approximately 20 percent in Aramaic, has garnered much attention. And now, the San Diego Natural History Museum has an exhibition of the scrolls from Israel and Jordan, including ten scrolls that have never been displayed, beginning June 29. However, it’s the section of the Copper Scroll, from Jordan, that is piquing the interest of archaeologists and artists worldwide, like a treasure hunt yet to be solved.
“The Copper Scroll was discovered in 1952 in Cave 3,” explains Dr. Risa Levitt Kohn, Director of the Jewish Studies Program at San Diego State University, biblical scholar, and curator of this show. “When it was first discovered it looked as though it was two scrolls, but when excavated it was one long scroll rolled up into two rolls. It became clear that unrolling it would be impossible because it was so fragile it would probably break apart. In 1955 and 1956 it was transported to Manchester, England where it was cut into slices, or small sections, to be photographed and deciphered. Once it was cut open, it was discovered it was approximately eight feet long, one millimeter thick and 99% copper, and that metal workers (engravers) literally hammered the text into the copper using some kind of striking instrument.”
According to Dr. Kohn, once deciphered, the scroll read in several different columns that comprised 64 cryptic locations where over 100 tons of gold, silver and other valuables were supposedly hidden. It stated directions like ‘in the cistern that’s in Beit Ha-Keren’, or ‘in a water tank at the valley of (blank)’. And, many theories exist of what this list might be.
“Perhaps the list is the contents of the treasury that belonged to the Jerusalem Temple before 70 C.E., or perhaps the possessions of the Qumran community, or, perhaps, it’s legendary and never meant to be taken seriously,” says Dr. Kohn. “The truth is, nobody really knows.”
But, we do know the importance of this Copper Scroll.
“This is the first time that the Copper Scroll has been shown in the United States,” says Delle Willett, Director of Marketing. “Our president, Dr. Michael Hager, negotiated with authorities from Jordan and Israel so the Copper Scroll can be displayed in the same room as the Dead Sea Scrolls.”
To ensure preservation of the ancient scrolls, the Israel Antiquities Authority only allows scrolls to be exhibited for a three-month period. The museum has been granted the unusual opportunity for a six-month exhibition with 12 scrolls displayed for the first three months and an additional 12 in the last three months. Three other Dead Sea Scrolls from Jordan will also be on display throughout the course of the exhibition.
Discovered in 11 caves between 1947 and 1952 near the Dead Sea in Israel’s Khirbet Qumran, the Dead Sea Scrolls consist of thousands of fragments that were discovered and pieced together into over 900 separate documents. Most were created from parchment and papyrus reed, but the Copper Scroll is considered one of the greatest pieces of copper-archeological finds, and the most interesting.
Copper Dead Sea Scroll, on display for
the first time in the United States
Copper Dead Sea Scroll, detail
Both photos courtesy of the San Diego
Museum of Natural History
“The Copper Scroll was discovered in 1952 in Cave 3,” explains Dr. Risa Levitt Kohn, Director of the Jewish Studies Program at San Diego State University, biblical scholar, and curator of this show. “When it was first discovered it looked as though it was two scrolls, but when excavated it was one long scroll rolled up into two rolls. It became clear that unrolling it would be impossible because it was so fragile it would probably break apart. In 1955 and 1956 it was transported to Manchester, England where it was cut into slices, or small sections, to be photographed and deciphered. Once it was cut open, it was discovered it was approximately eight feet long, one millimeter thick and 99% copper, and that metal workers (engravers) literally hammered the text into the copper using some kind of striking instrument.”
According to Dr. Kohn, once deciphered, the scroll read in several different columns that comprised 64 cryptic locations where over 100 tons of gold, silver and other valuables were supposedly hidden. It stated directions like ‘in the cistern that’s in Beit Ha-Keren’, or ‘in a water tank at the valley of (blank)’. And, many theories exist of what this list might be.
“Perhaps the list is the contents of the treasury that belonged to the Jerusalem Temple before 70 C.E., or perhaps the possessions of the Qumran community, or, perhaps, it’s legendary and never meant to be taken seriously,” says Dr. Kohn. “The truth is, nobody really knows.”
But, we do know the importance of this Copper Scroll.
“This is the first time that the Copper Scroll has been shown in the United States,” says Delle Willett, Director of Marketing. “Our president, Dr. Michael Hager, negotiated with authorities from Jordan and Israel so the Copper Scroll can be displayed in the same room as the Dead Sea Scrolls.”
To ensure preservation of the ancient scrolls, the Israel Antiquities Authority only allows scrolls to be exhibited for a three-month period. The museum has been granted the unusual opportunity for a six-month exhibition with 12 scrolls displayed for the first three months and an additional 12 in the last three months. Three other Dead Sea Scrolls from Jordan will also be on display throughout the course of the exhibition.
Resources:
The Dead Sea Scroll exhibit opens at the San Diego Museum of Natural History on June 29, and will be on display until Dec. 31.
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Copper in the Arts: NEWS
Sotheby’s Sets New World Record for Bronze Sculpture at Auction: Artemis and the Stag Fetches $28.6 Million - June 18, 2007
On June 7 at Sotheby’s in New York City, in a hushed and standing-room only salesroom, auction history was made when an exquisite bronze figure of Artemis and the Stag, circa 1st Century B.C./1st Century A.D., sold for $28,600,000, immediately becoming the most expensive sculpture ever sold at auction.
“She deserved it!” said Richard M. Keresey, Worldwide Director of Sotheby’s Antiquities Department.
That outstanding price also eclipsed the previous record for an Antiquity at auction and quadrupled the pre-sale high estimate of $7 million. When auctioneer Hugh Hildesley opened the bidding at $4.1 million, two bidders immediately began battling for the masterpiece. It appeared that the sculpture was going to sell for just over $12 million when a new bidder, seated in the rear of the salesroom, entered the contest. The bidding continued for a total of more than 10 minutes, in $100,000 increments, before the masterpiece was sold to Giuseppe Eskenazi, the premiere connoisseur of Chinese Art, who was bidding on behalf of a private European collector. The rare bronze, which had been consigned by the Albright Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York, was included in a sale of Antiquities which brought a total of $47,194,020 (est. $8.3/12.1 million), the highest total ever for an Antiquities sale.
“Artemis is certainly the greatest work of art that I have ever sold,” commented Keresey. “But, she is also much more than that. She is among the most beautiful works of art surviving from antiquity.”
Following the auction, Eskenazi commented, “This is certainly one of the finest, if not the finest, bronze or any sculpture that I have seen in my 50-year career. “On the world scale, it is certainly at the top. It is the height of bronze casting; it is of the highest quality, and it is exceptionally refined. It is comparable to any other sculpture of this size and quality in any museum or any private collection anywhere. I am very proud to be associated with it.”
Among the very finest large classical bronze sculptures and the most splendid to appear on the market in memory, the rare bronze figure of Artemis and the Stag is remarkable for its beauty, size, excellent state of preservation, and most notably, its dramatic capture of the split-second moment when the Greek goddess of the hunt has just let fly her arrow. The elegant sculptural group features Artemis standing on a quadrangular base with a stag to her left. Wearing elaborately laced sandals and short chiton with drapery billowing at the sides, the goddess’ extended left hand would have held a bow that is now missing. The exquisite detail of this work is apparent in her face: silver-overlaid eyes, incised irises, recessed pupils and her ears pierced for earrings.
“She deserved it!” said Richard M. Keresey, Worldwide Director of Sotheby’s Antiquities Department.
Bronze figure of Artemis and the Stag
Photograph courtesy of Sotheby's
“Artemis is certainly the greatest work of art that I have ever sold,” commented Keresey. “But, she is also much more than that. She is among the most beautiful works of art surviving from antiquity.”
Following the auction, Eskenazi commented, “This is certainly one of the finest, if not the finest, bronze or any sculpture that I have seen in my 50-year career. “On the world scale, it is certainly at the top. It is the height of bronze casting; it is of the highest quality, and it is exceptionally refined. It is comparable to any other sculpture of this size and quality in any museum or any private collection anywhere. I am very proud to be associated with it.”
Among the very finest large classical bronze sculptures and the most splendid to appear on the market in memory, the rare bronze figure of Artemis and the Stag is remarkable for its beauty, size, excellent state of preservation, and most notably, its dramatic capture of the split-second moment when the Greek goddess of the hunt has just let fly her arrow. The elegant sculptural group features Artemis standing on a quadrangular base with a stag to her left. Wearing elaborately laced sandals and short chiton with drapery billowing at the sides, the goddess’ extended left hand would have held a bow that is now missing. The exquisite detail of this work is apparent in her face: silver-overlaid eyes, incised irises, recessed pupils and her ears pierced for earrings.
Resources:
Sotheby's, 1334 York Avenue at 72nd St., New York, (212) 606-7000
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