A Copper Alliance Member
Copper in the Arts
Issue #25: May '09 - Cont'd
Mystical Creations Jewelry Artist Tara Helwig
Jewelry artist Tara Helwig in her studio
Photo by Paul David
“I’ve noticed within the past five years there’s been a resurgence for the demand of copper jewelry,” says Helwig, owner of Mystical Creations Original Body Ornaments, in Wayne, PA. “It’s a beautiful metal and besides its ability to shine, it has metaphysical properties. Many clients approach me about healing stones that are wrapped in copper like tiger eye (for protection), amethyst (for healing), hematite, a shiny black heavy stone which is said to be good for blood circulation, and more. Healing stones have always been popular, but I also use pearls, and varieties of crystals and beads.”
Helwig, who is self-taught, began creating sun-catchers before moving on to custom jewelry, and then forming Mystical Creations 15 years ago. She is currently represented by CoSM Gallery in Chelsea, NY, and ships sales from her online store all around the world. Her one-of-a-kind jewelry can also be found in boutiques, craft shows, shops, markets and online.
Copper is her metal of choice for its beauty and durability.
“People requested different metals, but copper was a metal that people truly desired due to the beautiful patinas,” she explains. “It’s a great metal to work with---if I make a mistake it’s very forgiving because it’s malleable. Sterling tends to ‘crink’ (i.e., once you bend it at a certain angle there’s no going back without it breaking, but copper can be twisted and reworked when needed.) I save my scraps and have someone melt it down for reuse.”
Copper covered blue howlite stone
Photo by Paul David
Helwig creates custom pieces for weddings, bridal parties, and other special events, and even designs custom jeweled collars for your pets.
"Jewelry is a special art form," says Helwig, "It's passed on from generation to generation and that's like a part of me being passed on. When I'm creating something that's a gift for someone, or a kind gesture, and I know it will be given with love, it just makes me so happy."
Her process is very organic, and the design of the jewelry becomes a compliment for not only the person’s outfit or style, but the personality of the owner. After perusing her website, brides, bridesmaids and other customers call her to discuss what they want. She arranges a meeting, after they purchase their dresses, and gathers an assortment of semi-precious stone samples to show how well they match their dresses and color schemes. She then sends pictures as the process unfolds, so her clients can see her progress as the work evolves.
She often uses neck and décolleté measurements to get a custom fit for her work.
“If a customer isn’t here, physically, they usually send me a color photo via email of the actual dress and measurements,” says Helwig. “If clients are local I visit their homes to present my line of copper jewelry and custom designs for everyone.
Resources:
Mystical Creations owner and artisan, Tara Helwig, demonstrates the art of incorporating copper elements, along with other materials, in her one-of-a-kind, custom jewelry pieces.
Mystical Creations and Body Adornment, Wayne, PA, (484) 257-7966
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Mystical Creations and Body Adornment, Wayne, PA, (484) 257-7966
Dennis Cordeiro's Unique Copper Fish
Red Snapper Copper Fish
Photos courtesy of Dennis Cordeiro
But Cordeiro’s reason for continuing his trade isn’t about the number sold from his school of fish. “I don’t do it for the money – I come out here to my garage to make them because it’s fun,” he says. “All proceeds go to my children and grandchildren.”
In 1998, while visiting one of his children in Wisconsin, Cordeiro was first sparked by the copper craft when he saw copper lawn sprinklers in a gift shop and reacted with: “I can make that!” So he did, toured the U.S. in a 40-foot motor home, and shifted his focus to fish during a stay in Florida five years ago upon his nephew’s request for a copper fish.
From that moment, Cordeiro says, hammering out his Unique Copper Fish has continued to be a learning process. He shows me, for example, in his garage workshop how he recently discovered that soldering from the backside of the fish with a small propane torch creates a shimmering rainbow of colors (green, blue, orange), combined with a process of steel wool brushing and lacquer coating. He’s also learned to curl the edges of the fish to give the artwork that 3-D finish and how to concoct a homemade recipe for patina using products from Michael’s craft store, plus rock salt, vinegar, ammonia and Miracle-Gro.
Brown Trout Copper Fish
Photo courtesy of Dennis Cordeiro
Cordeiro prefers to use his hands over the 7- to 12-hour creation process, having learned quickly that pneumatic tools and scroll saw blades are just too fast for this kind of intricate handiwork. He starts with a pattern taken from a photograph from a client or the pages of photographs or illustrations on the Internet and traces it onto butcher paper. “Sometimes it takes three hours to make the pattern,” he explains. “The hardest part is drawing it to scale.”
He then hand-cuts the copper sheeting (3 feet wide by 10 feet long) purchased from roofing companies. “I used to buy copper from a salvage yard, but it just took too long to clean it,” says Cordeiro. The cost of new copper, he says, is about $5 per square foot.
Cordeiro’s maximum size and sale price is a 46-inch dolphin for $300. “I give a lot of value to my work, but I’m told my work is undervalued,” he says. “I’m just happy to sell them to buy more copper … I do a lot of bartering, like when I traded a spottail fish for a four-hour charter fishing trip in Charleston.”
Cordeiro seems satisfied to travel with his wares to regional art festivals (two are coming up in Mt. Pleasant and McClellanville, S.C.) and to sell the fish online to clients across the United States, Brazil and the UK.
Resources:
Unique Copper Fish, Pawleys Island, SC
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Copper in the Arts: EVENTS
- Palm Beach Jewelry, Art, and Antique Show
Feb 15, '13 - Feb 18, '13 - Native Expressions: Dave McGary’s Bronze Realism
Mar 7, '13 - Jun 30, '13 - Evolving Character Head Demonstration with John Coleman
Mar 9, '13 - Mar 9, '13 - More Upcoming Events...
Copper in the Arts: HISTORY
The Arts and Crafts Society of Central New York
A rare copper Gustav Stickley jardinière
Photograph courtesy of Dalton’s American Decorative Arts
Today, more than a century later, the Arts and Crafts style and its ideals are as alive as ever. They underlie the architectural forms and nature-embracing ideas of Frank Lloyd Wright and form the foundation of the "Craftsman Style" that's currently enjoying a strong revival from coast to coast.
This history and its associated works provide the focus of the Arts and Crafts Society of Central New York (ACSCNY), located in Syracuse. From the late 1800s through the early 20th century that city was a major center of American decorative arts due to its proximity to the Erie Canal, its pool of skilled workers, and access to natural materials such as high quality wood.
Over a relatively short period of time, the city would be host to such well known Arts and Crafts manufacturers as Gustav Stickley's Craftsman Workshops, his brother Leopold Stickley's L.&J.G. Stickley Company, and Adelaide Robineau's Pottery. Also in Syracuse were the less recognized Onondaga Metal Shops and Benedict Art Studios.
While the majority of these shops’ production centered on furniture constructed of wood, each produced a range of hand hammered and spun copper and brass products ranging from lamps and vases to kitchen, service ware and fireplace hardware. They also produced a variety of decorative forms for use as inlays and overlays on their firms' furniture production. In all cases, the work was produced either entirely by hand or with machine assistance at the start then finished by hand in the true spirit of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
Now in its 14th year of operation as a not-for-profit organization, the Arts and Crafts Society of Central New York has grown to 75 members and includes a number of architects, designers, academics, collectors and home owners, all of whom share a profound love for the style. The Society has no fixed location and possesses no permanent collection but instead supports a variety of projects and events, including tours, scholarly research, and public lectures focused on the Arts and Crafts Movement at venues throughout the region.
Dave Rudd is one of the Society's founding members as well as its current president. His involvement with the Arts and Crafts Movement began in earnest when he and his wife, Debbie Goldwein, were young newly-weds living in Syracuse in the mid-1970s and looking for furnishings for their home. At a swap meet, they came upon a couch that they both immediately fell in love with.
"We were powerfully attracted to the sincerity and honesty of the workmanship and the philosophy of the Arts and Crafts Movement which produced it," says Rudd. "We decided that we would do our entire house in that style. Everything just evolved from there."
That evolution led the Rudds from furnishing their home to starting a collection. As their collection grew, they became dealers and opened Dalton's, a gallery of American Decorative arts. The enthusiasm and depth of knowledge they displayed as collectors and dealers soon attracted the attention of other people in the region who shared their interests. From this ever expanding group of like-minded people, the idea and then the fact of the ACSCNY was formed.
The gallery now serves informally as the Society's headquarters and also as something of a museum of the Arts and Crafts Movement in the region. Its current inventory consists of over 3,000 objects and people are welcome to visit and enjoy the works on display.
Resources:
Arts and Crafts Society of Central New York, Syracuse, NY.
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Copper in the Arts: NEWS
SFMOMA Unveils New Rooftop Sculpture Garden - May 01, 2009
Rooftop Garden Plans at the SFMOMA
Photo courtesy of SFMOMA
"The garden will act as an entirely new kind of gallery, adding a fresh dimension to the museum experience," said SFMOMA Director Neal Benezra. "The grand scale of this remarkable space will enable us to exhibit large works—and even to extend and play off of the special exhibitions on view in our fifth-floor galleries."
Artists to be featured in the Rooftop Garden's inaugural exhibition include Robert Arneson, Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Luciano Fabro, Ellsworth Kelly, Mario Merz, Juan Munoz, Barnett Newman, Joel Shapiro, Ranjani Shettar, and Kiki Smith. Sculptures will be comprised of works from the museum's collection that were either recently acquired or that are rarely seen. Highlights include Alexander Calder's Big Crinkly (1969); Stele I (1973), by Ellsworth Kelly; and Zim Zum I (1969), by Barnett Newman. Also on view will be recent gifts of artwork donated specifically for display in the new space, including The Lens of Rotterdam (1988), by Mario Merz, a gift from the Dodie and John N. Rosekrans Jr.-Runnymede Collection; and Joel Shapiro's Untitled (1983–87), a gift from Shirley Ross Davis.
The Rooftop Garden, which is partially covered but primarily open air, adds 14,400 square feet to the museum, and was designed by Jensen Architects, a leading San Francisco–based architecture and interiors firm. On its western side, the space shares a panoramic glass wall with the museum's fifth-floor galleries, providing them with natural light and views of the garden. Access to the Rooftop Garden will be via an enclosed glass-and-steel bridge, which will also be used for displaying art; for the garden's inauguration, the bridge will feature a specially commissioned project by Bay Area artist Rosanna Castrillo Diaz.
Resources:
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 161 3rd. St., San Francisco, CA, (415) 357-1035
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