A Copper Alliance Member
Copper in the Arts
Issue #38: June '10
The Water Studio: The Alchemy of Copper, Fire and Water
L. Avenue. Water sculpture with rain curtain in a courtyard. Ridged and smooth copper with bronze patina.
Photograph courtesy of Water Studio
The studio began as a small artistic venture by the late area artist Eric Orr. Trained under Orr, So rose to head the studio and developed its new vision, eventually becoming a pioneering member of the California art movement known as Light and Space. As his artwork become more well-known, the Water Studio grew as well, and today you can find their frameless water veils and water-feature sculptures in casinos, corporate headquarters, resorts, spas, medical facilities, and outdoor public art installations.
“In the past, it was mostly art by commission only," says So of the growth of the studio. Only within the last six years, has the Water Studio taken on more commercial projects. Now we do commercial, residential, and public art,” So says.
Javier’s Cantina. Glass bottle water feature in a restaurant. Wine glass bottles, copper with bronze patina.
Photograph courtesy of Water Studio
When the Water Studio takes on a project, So works with his team to create a design that is site specific. “I try to design something that fits the space,” he says. “It must work with the different architectural elements in the building. It must use materials that are consistent with other finishes. I try to listen to the architect and the client to design something that works with the flow of traffic within the space.”
From this stage, the project can either go to a private contractor to build or the Water Studio is hired to do it. “We’ve done a lot of projects with granite and stone and other traditional building materials, such as tile and concrete. For those projects, we would design and provide construction drawings, and another contractor would actually build it,” So says. But that isn’t the case with copper. “You don't find people who’ve worked with copper in the way that we work with copper…The processes that we use are unique. We machine copper. We both solder and weld copper. It’s hard to find somebody who can weld copper with the quality that we expect.”
Additionally, the Water Studio’s work with copper is unusual. So doesn’t work with thin panels of copper or use bare copper with water flowing over it. “I stay away from that thin copper, hammered, very common look,” So says. Using thicker pieces, usually 1/8 inch to 3/16 inch thick, he and his fabricators create large flat surfaces. “It’s very pristine. The surfaces are very precise. You don't see any irregular movement of the surfaces.” To achieve that, he says, “We try to work with copper so it has the appearance of bronze.”
Working on a copper feature at Water Studio.Photograph courtesy of Water Studio
And copper is long lasting. “One of the reasons we chose copper is that over time bronze or brass corrodes more than copper. A lot of these bigger projects that we work on, we want to make sure they last longer than our lifetime.” This is particularly important when working with water running continuously over a metal surface. “It will be continuously submerged under water. Because of the corrosive metals in bronze and brass, it does corrode. With copper projects, there’s some change from the patina, but there’s not significant corrosion of the material itself because it’s so pure.”
Resources:
Water Studio, 5681 Selmaraine Dr., Culver City, CA, (310) 581-2221
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Also in this Issue:
- EVENTS:
A listing of upcoming events in the arts featuring copper and related materials, or highlighting artisans who work with the materials.
