A Copper Alliance Member
Copper in the Arts
Issue #32: December '09 - Cont'd
Erickson Birdhouses: Weathering the Seasons Beautifully
Erickson Birdhouse, complete with Berman's signature verdigris copper roofPhotograph by Paul David
But Berman didn’t always have his sights on woodworking. With Fortune 500 roots, Berman began his own home construction business in 1986, and shifted gears to start Erickson Birdhouses in 1991.
“Something just got under me, and I thought, ‘I’m just going to start making birdhouses,’” he recalls.
He went to work, and developed a handcrafted line of rustic birdhouses with metal roofs. He named the company Erickson Birdhouses after his mother, who’s maiden name was Erickson.
“My mother was creative, and I thought it had a nice ring to it,” he says.
He became a member of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen in 1991, and started selling his birdhouses at their weekly shows. After experimenting with several different materials, Berman started adding his signature copper roofs to his work, which immediately attracted the attention of buyers
“With copper, you’re differentiating yourself,” says Berman. “When we put a verdigris on the copper—we’re pretty good at that—people wanted it.”
To complete the look and help withstand the elements through the seasons, Berman began mounting his birdhouses on copper poles. Then, at the Philadelphia Craft Show, his work caught the eye of a scout from Colonial Williamsburg, and he was asked to create a series of birdhouses to be sold to visitors.
Berman with his NBBA endorsement signPhotograph by Paul David
“What I like about it is that every product we make is original---no two are alike,” says Berman. His copper of choice is type L (typical for plumbing), which he purchases from Weinstein Supply in Philadelphia. “We buy quite a bit of copper. It’s interesting when I go in there---they know I’m a woodworker, but I buy more copper than their plumbers.”
To make sure the birds are cozy all year-long, Berman uses on brass screws and copper marine nails from Vermont’s Shelburne Museum for extra durability.
“These birdhouses are going to be around for awhile,” he says with a laugh.
In fact, Erickson Birdhouses are so exceptional, they were recently chosen as the official Birdhouse of the National Backyard Bird Association (NBBA), a very convincing tongue-in-cheek accolade that Berman touts at shows and on his website, complete with press statements and an impressive association logo, which he completely fabricated.
“I just have to own up to it,” says the good-natured Berman, who admitted that the NBBA was created just to see if anyone would believe it. “We just had the most fun with this. I have signs when I’m exhibiting that talk about the NBBA award, and people say, ‘That’s great!’ I just tell them it’s an honor.”
One distressed customer wrote Berman an angry letter, disappointed that the NBBA endorsed birdhouse had a perch outside the entrance (a very controversial detail in the birding world).
“He actually wrote ‘And, to think you’re the official birdhouse of the NBBA!’” recalls Berman. “I just got such a hoot out of that.”
Berman continues to look at the lighter side of life, and is grateful for his craft.
“I have a daughter in New York and a son in LA,” says Berman. “I put them both through school building birdhouses---I feel pretty good about that.”
Resources:
Erickson Birdhouses, 1140 Elizabeth Ave., Suite #1, Lancaster, PA, (717) 397-2266
See Eric Berman make a birdhouse with copper roof.
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See Eric Berman make a birdhouse with copper roof.
Ruth Shapiro: Symbols of Judaica in Metal
Handmade bronze mezuzah by Ruth ShapiroPhotograph courtesy of Ruth Shapiro
Originally from New Jersey and now based in Los Angeles, Shapiro started creating copper, silver, and bronze mezuzot, which are traditionally hung on the doorpost of Jewish homes. She sometimes incorporates stones, geodes, beads, and carved bone, into her mezuzot and likes to work with recycled sheet copper whenever possible.
Since learning casting, Shapiro has studied many other techniques in her 25 years as an artist, including work with silver masters in Israel. Shapiro also makes jewelry, yodim, tallit clips, and occasionally, menorahs and synagogue pieces such as torah breastplates.
“In the last few years, I’m doing a lot more fabricating directly from sheet metal,” she says.
Shapiro’s work is very diverse, and not all of her mezuzot are in the traditional rectangular shape. Every mezuzah includes the first letter of the word Shalom, which means “peace,” and some of her pieces include representations of the burning bush, as well as other Hebrew letters. She also likes to create different forms of the Star of David.
Earlier this year, the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto, California awarded Shapiro a commission, which involved large custom-designed mezuzot in copper, brass, and bronze with a deep red pomegranate on the front. In addition to the mezuzot created for the center’s building, she made 160 smaller versions of the same design that were given to the center’s supporters.
When presenting her ideas to the center, Shapiro showed them a Hopi Indian technique called granulation that utilizes metal filings to create a pebbly effect. Replicating this technique on large surfaces wouldn’t be possible, however, because the underlying pieces would start to melt before the filings fused. So, Shapiro created the same effect on the surface of the mezuzot through etching.
Copper mezuzah with sunflower accentsPhotograph courtesy of Ruth Shapiro
Because she only had two and a half months to complete the entire commission, the 160 small mezuzot were created from a wax mold, but each one is still slightly different. “It was a challenge,” says Shapiro, “but I like the idea that they’re going to be in 160 separate homes.”
Most of her work is a result of inspiration from nature and Judaism, however, rather than commissions. “I like doing big jobs for people,” Shapiro says, “but it’s a little less nerve-wracking if I can take my time and do my own concept and hope that somebody will like it.” These concepts include a mezuzah which she has humorously called a “ChiPod.” Chi is a Hebrew letter meaning “life,” and the piece looks like an iPod. Another of her own creations is a very intricate wedding mezuzah in sterling silver. She spent two years on and off carving the original wax mold.
Shapiro has also begun making her own copper beads, which she often etches. “I take sheet copper, and I cut out shapes – either rectangles, squares, or circles,” she says. “I hammer the copper and dome it and then, solder two halves together. Sometimes, I’ll texture the copper with a hammer first before I dome it. Other times, I etch it with a chemical, and then, when that’s finished, I dome it. Then, I can oxidize it which makes the parts that are sunken in dark so that the pattern stands out more.”
Shapiro mostly sells her work at Rabbinical or Jewish educator conventions or at high-end trade shows. She has just started selling to individuals on Etsy, but she also sells through her own website and some Judaica websites, galleries, and synagogue gift shops in the U.S. and Israel.
Shapiro’s work is a spiritual experience for her that has deepened her connection to her religion, and as a result, she now enjoys collecting the work of other Judaic artists.
Resources:
Ruth Shapiro, Los Angeles, CA, (310) 398-6910
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Copperhand Studio: In Partnership with Nature
Triptych copper panel from Copperhand StudioPhotograph courtesy of Richard
“The amount of time that it took me to do these things was, in the end, prohibitive,” he said. “Then I had this idea: Wouldn't it be kind of simple just to let the plant materials have their voice and let them dominate--just image nature in the copper?”
He tried it, and what emerged was breathtaking. By placing plant materials directly on the copper and then treating the entire surface with acid solutions, Hawk was able to not only capture the grace of the plant's shape but something else--something ethereal.
After some experimentation, Hawk began creating copper images in diptychs and triptychs, which he soon began selling at local galleries. His work continued to evolve and in 1999, while on a business trip to China, he became fascinated with traditional Chinese and Japanese brush painting.
“I read The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting, which is a thousand-year-old manuscript on traditional painting, and other texts. It became clear to me that the Eastern orientation of art is very, very different from what we have in the West,” he said. “The focus is not on originality. The focus is not even on the end product...the focus is on the process. If you do the process and you forget yourself and your ego and the end product, that is when you become good.”
Hawk first applied this concept to his painting, moving away from the pressures of technique and beginning to paint boldly. “I have a strong structure and then I paint with wild abandon from the gut, very intuitively and very quickly, so quickly that I can't even think about it.”
Patinated copper diptych from Copperhand StudioPhotograph courtesy of Richard Hawk
“Watercolors and copper are really very similar in the way the media behave,” Hawk remarked. “What I love about watercolors is the fact that the pigment and the water do things on the paper that are very natural. It's a wet process. The process of using acid on copper to create a patina on the copper is very much the same in a lot of ways. You get a lot of those same feelings and patterns and textures. That's something natural. It has an elusive, flowing quality.”
Today, Hawk buys large 4' x 10' sheets of copper from Industrial Metals in San Diego where the staff makes sure his pieces are dent and scratch free. He gathers plant materials wherever he can find them and keeps shelves of various acid solutions that he sprays or brushes on the copper to create different colors. Sometimes he even uses copper paint on the copper and will spray acid on those as well.
Artist Richard Hawk in his studioPhotograph courtesy of Richard Hawk
The public's response to Hawk's work has been exciting. He has several commissioned pieces hanging in private homes, as well as a large diptych that will be installed in the lobby of a Marriott resort hotel in San Antonio, Texas. Last month at the High Point Market trade show in North Carolina, Hawk unveiled some collaborations with high-end furniture designer John Strauss.
Resources:
Copperhand Studio, San Diego, CA, (760) 504-4015
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Copper in the Arts: NEWS
Christie's Presents: Historical Design Reflects-The East 61st Street Years - December 08, 2009
A hand repousse brass and nickled-metal five-panel "Oasis" screenPhotograph courtesy of Christie's Images, Ltd., 2009
The sale provided a comprehensive overview of spectacular decorative pieces spanning the past century and into our present decade, including French ceramics, New York related objects, Scandinavian Design, photographs, American Mid-Century Design and Bauhaus.
The show featured works on paper by contemporary masters Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns and Ellsworth Kelly in addition to black and white photographs by Harry Callahan, Berenice Abbott, and Bill Brandt, among others. Also included in the sale were contemporary pieces by renowned designers Shlomo Harush, Ron Arad, and Shiro Kuramata.
Other highlights included an array of works by Archibald Knox including a stunning ‘Cymric’ silver enameled case, 1902, and a ‘Tudric’ and mother-of-pearl clock from 1902-05, both originally executed for Liberty & Co, London. Other lots include an Adolph Loos leather and ebonized wood ‘Elbow Chair’ from circa 1899; and a glass, chromed and painted metal Z-Clock by Gilbert Rohde.
The sale also featured a selection of original 1960’s, beautifully designed posters for musical legends such as the Grateful Dead, and The Doors, and the Yardbirds. Other notable highlights included a pair of limed and ebonized oak chest of drawers, circa 1940 by James Mont, a hand-knotted wool rug from the 1930’s by Edward McKnight Kauffer, and a refined Jean Royere wool upholstered oak sculptured armchair, from 1955.
Resources:
Christie’s New York, 20 Rockerfeller Plz # 6, New York, NY, (212) 636-2000
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