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Copper in the Arts
J Crocker Designs: Shedding an Eco Friendly Light on Copper
Wood and copper lamp sculpturePhotograph courtesy Jay Crocker
Crocker is inspired by vivid color, Santa Fe stones and rustic raw materials.
“I could never find any lamps that suited my taste,” recalls Crocker. “I like mesquite furniture, rich leather, that kind of thing.” A lifetime do-it-yourselfer, Crocker found the answer right under his own pick-axe, and decided to create his own lamp design.
“Last winter I was splitting wood,” he explains his inspiration for the “Firewood Collection,” and he stumbled upon his “aha” moment in a particularly striking piece of maple. In fact, most of his lamps are discovered in the firewood pile. But whenever inspiration strikes, Crocker pulls one special piece to become a one-of-a-kind work of art.
Originally from the panhandle of Texas, Crocker spent 15 years in and out of a bullriding ring. He traveled extensively, riding in more than one hundred rodeos a year. Eventually he tired of the constant traveling. He has since retired his spot atop a bull and traded it, ironically, for a line of work that requires he be under the hoof of a large animal on a daily basis. He now spends most of his days in the forge working with metal as a professional horseshoer.
He jokes about his newfound inspiration for art, “Maybe when I was rodeo’n I got bumped on the head too many times.”
While Jay Crocker’s day job seems far from the glamour of a designer who makes custom lighting for the “green” consumer, at heart he’s a hardworking craftsman who has spotted an opportunity to fulfill his creative side while being simultaneously good to the earth.
Copper patina close upPhotograph courtesy Jay Crocker
His customers resonate with the ecologically-friendly design and materials. He often receives inquires for more “organic” shapes. “You mean like a tomato or a carrot or something like that?” he quips, with a charming smile on his lips.
Crocker believes in being an environmentally responsible business owner and artist. That’s why he uses wood that was meant for firewood and treats the copper with non-toxic waxes that contain no petroleum distillates or dangerous solvents.
“I believe everyone should be trying to go [green]," says Crocker. "I believe in that wholeheartedly.”
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Roland Hockett: Experiments with Copper
A selection of Roland Hockett copper paintingsPhotograph courtesy of Roland Hockett
“I noticed that he worked in painting, sculpture, printmaking, and drawing, so I decided that’s what I wanted to do,” says Hockett. And that’s exactly what he did. In fact, all of these art forms will be represented at an upcoming exhibit of Hockett’s work called “Copper Magic” in Panama City, Florida where he resides.
The exhibit opened November 6, 2009 and will run until Dec. 5 at the Northwest Florida Visual Arts Center. It includes about 20 large scale sculptures made of copper or aluminum, as well as paintings, drawings, and prints. To create “rays of copper,” Hockett also took 20-foot pieces of copper and dropped them down through the track lighting supports from the roof to the floor.
While Hockett’s sculptures are distinctive enough, it is his paintings that are particularly unusual. He incorporates copper and acrylic paints in the same work. Created on wood, he begins by drawing the image on the wood and painting it. After tracing, cutting, and flattening each piece of copper that he has chosen for a particular work, he softens the edges and glues them to the wood temporarily. When he is certain that the copper pieces are where he wants them, he nails them to the wood. This is hardly the final step, however.
Hockett often welds more pieces of copper on top of the first layer, which he repaints after adding the metal, sometimes painting over part of the copper surfaces. The welding creates its own set of problems, though. “When the flame hits the acrylic paint, it changes the color or burns it,” he says. “I like that because it adds another quality to the work.”
After these steps, he burnishes the copper and sprays varnish on it to slow down the tarnishing process. The glue that he used to initially place the copper pieces on the wood also smokes and ignites during the welding process.
Sharon's ShellPhotograph courtesy of Roland Hockett
Hockett has created many large scale works for public spaces, including a mural for the Juan Santa Maria International Airport in Costa Rica, eagle sculptures for the Florida Supreme Court, and a 9/11 monument for the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica. This monument, which he created in 2004, was a special challenge.
“They wanted everything shipped through U.S. Mail, so I had to design it in such a way that it would all snap together,” he says. It took 30 boxes and two weeks of reassembly to complete the work after its delivery in Costa Rica. The final result is a monument of many sections that looks like a 16-foot solid piece.
Another of his large scale sculptures was created for a restaurant. Called “Circles and Sea,” the piece includes three six-foot circles and a four-foot wide copper design that goes all the way to the ceiling. Each of the circles include 500-1,000 feet of copper tubing. “I just bent it around and methodically welded or brazed it all together,” Hockett says. The end result consists of two layers of copper tubing in rhythmic designs that symbolize water currents.
Hockett purchases his copper from local suppliers. His tubing comes from Engineering & Equipment Co., and his sheet copper comes from Gulfeagle Supply. He generally uses 16-gauge copper and creates his sculptures using thousands of brazed connections. Experimentation is simply part of his process.
“I found out that it’s important to play well if you’re going to do art,” he says. “I find that if I set limits on myself, I may not be making it as free and creative as I need to. So, I allow myself to do whatever the image needs for me to do.”
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Copper in the Arts: HISTORY
The Wurlitzer Brass Pipe Organ Revival at the City Museum
Brass organ pipes of the restored WurlitzerPhotograph courtesy of City Museum
Alan Haker is the organ custodian for the City Museum who designed and did most of the installation. “The organ had been in storage for 18 years and we kept trying to find a home for it,” he said.
He approached the City Museum who jumped at the chance. Preparations began for installing the organ in a part of the museum known as The Enchanted Caves, a 10 story atrium in the middle of the museum. The first two floors are a labyrinth, hence the name Caves. The remainder is open with chutes and slides and a skylight on the roof. Some original pipes were discarded due to space constraints.
There are currently 17 sets of pipes, with a mélange of different materials like brass, wood, tin and lead combinations, and zinc alloy. “The tin and lead pipes make a mellower sound, the more ponderous tones need eight foot brass pipes, three inches in circumference,” Haker noted.
Wurlitzer keyboardPhotograph courtesy of City Museum
The result is a pipe organ that has new life and is winning new converts.
“The teenagers love it,” Haker says, though the first thing the younger kids ask is, will it play Freebird? Sadly, no. Most organs are geared for musicals, songbook tunes and Disney songs. Though the Wurlitzer is computer operated, there’s a PC in the console, the City Museum still gets a live organist about once a week to play hands on. “The first day it played,” Haker says, “[The museum’s owner] Mr. Cassilly came up and gave me a big hug.” And for centuries, pipe organs and the brass that create the must-have strident deep notes have been and will continue to be a part of history.
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Copper in the Arts: NEWS
Bronze Barye on Exhibit at MIA - November 08, 2009
Lion and SerpentPhotograph courtesy of MIA
“We are thrilled to present such a magnificent group of works from the Louvre’s collections to Minnesota for the first time, and it is a great opportunity to explore what makes a work of art a masterpiece,” said Kaywin Feldman, Director and President of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. A comprehensive selection of paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, and drawings reflect three major themes: the changing historical and cultural definitions of a masterpiece; authenticity and connoisseurship; and the evolution of taste and scholarship.
The show includes an in-depth examination of French sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye’s life-sized bronze Lion and Serpent, further elucidating the exhibition's themes, such as the significance of technical mastery and the creative process, and the impact of the artist’s reputation. This presentation includes smaller models and studies based on Barye’s masterpiece. Barye was well known for his realistic depiction of animals, especially those engaged in life-and-death struggles. Lion and Serpent was commissioned by King Louis-Philippe for the Tuileries Gardens, and was on display there from 1836 to 1911. With Lion and Serpent, Barye pushed the technical boundaries of cast-bronze sculpture by using only one bronze pour into a single mold. He reproduced the work hundreds of times in other sizes, which were then sold as collectible objects and used as diplomatic gifts from the French government.
“What Is a Masterpiece” explores the changing historical definitions of the concept of masterpiece through a selection of objects from the ancient Near East through the mid-19th-century. In the ancient world, a masterpiece was defined by an object’s owner and purpose. In contrast, medieval artists achieved technical mastery within specialized guilds. Notable objects in this section include two such inscribed works: a Limoges ciborium (c. A.D. 1200), a vessel used for holding communion hosts, and a Mamluk hammered bronze basin known as the Baptistery of Saint Louis, (c. late 13th—early 14th century). The Baptistery of Saint Louis was later used to baptize Louis XIII in 1610 and Napoleon III’s son in 1856.
