A Copper Alliance Member
Copper in the Arts
Mapping Out a Career: The Copper Maps of Copper Leaf Studios
Copper Map, by Copperleaf Studios Photograph courtesy of Chris Zielski
“Once you start to produce a lot of work and generate ideas, the more you immerse yourself in it, the more you get a finished product,” she says of finding inspiration by keeping busy. She started doing copper maps when a local non-profit, the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture, held a symposium to explore live/work housing for local artists. They commissioned her to create something inspired by the Ohio area, something the various speakers could take with them. She created a large copper map consisting of 20 separate pieces of the Great Lakes region. The individual pieces were then broken out and given out as 20 different gifts. That started her thinking about a sense of place and how maps provide connection to people.
“Copper is the 7th wedding anniversary so people buy a map related to where they got married, or something that is marking a specific event,” she says. And her copper maps are selling to buyers across the globe.
West Coast copper map, by Copperleaf Studios Photograph courtesy of Chris Zielski
“I like it better, it’s a lower temperature and I can control the colors better,” she says. “The warm copper tones have just a little bit of extra color when I use slow controlled, low temperatures.” She then uses either lacquer or an enamel coating to finish her pieces.
“There is a huge demand for art that represents our city,” she says. To that end she has been working on what she calls her Cleveland Series, skylines, art deco structures and other notable and emblematic images from the region. “People just love the look of copper. It’s got something deeper than a painting,” she muses. She is seeing a shift towards two dimensional work; art which has depth to it with more layering as in collage or metal work.
Her permanent Ohio collections include pieces in the national headquarters of both NextHome Realty, and Dollar Bank. Her copper work can also be seen at Juma Gallery in Cleveland as well regional arts shows.
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Jan Rosetta: Capturing the Natural Beauty of Wildlife
Lynx at Laurel Elementary School of Art and Technology in Fort Collins, CO. Installed February 2010.Photograph courtesy of Jan Rosetta
"We did every step of the casting process ourselves for a one-off casting and, when I pressed the small portrait head of my friend up against the polishing wheel and that sensuous golden bronze glow appeared over the surfaces of my creation, I simply fell in love with the medium,” she recalls. “I was hooked!"
Now a full-time sculptor, Rosetta recently spent two weeks on her fourth safari in Africa where she was able to get up close and personal with many of the powerful, noble wild felines that she especially loves. Her clay sculptures express this beauty and grace in animal form and present stylized renditions of spirit, pose and anatomy. She calls this "interpretive realism."
"Sculpture designs first take shape in my imagination based on what I know and feel about the animal,” she says. “My initial physical rendering is a small, rough 3-D clay "sketch" to establish movement and proportions. This small study allows me to make changes quickly and easily. It establishes the form enough to show me what armature I will need for a larger rendition. I use "classic" dark brown clay with hard consistency for both sketches and final clay sculptures because it doesn't sag and holds my crisp edges and subtle smooth shapes so well.”
Running Cheetah, bronze sculpture by Jan RosettaPhotograph by Nadia Borowski Scott
Her sculptures vary from miniature to monumental and even include masks. Though most of her creations are felines, she does do other animals. Her heron fountain makes a beautiful addition to a garden or yard. She does public and private commissions and has won numerous awards.
Rosetta is a fellow and former board member of the National Sculpture Society, and a current members of the Northwest Rendezvous Group. She currently has a show at the Rockwell Museum of Western Art in Corning, New York's, and upcoming exhibits at the InSight Gallery in Fredericksburg, TX and at Dennos Museum Center in Traverse City, MI.
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Marilyn Rodriguez: The Midas Touch in Bronze
Marilyn Rodriguez in her studio Photograph courtesy of Mariyln Rodriguez
“Ever since I was a little girl, I was drawing people, but I was never satisfied with just a canvas and I wasn’t sure why,” says Rodriguez.
After college graduation in 1981, she purchased a one-way ticket to Europe and hopped from one museum to the next, becoming immersed in the fine art sculpture section of each.
“I realized at that point, that’s what I wanted to do,” she says.
But Rodriguez’s artistic hands would be forced to remain idle. She instead went into real estate as a broker, a real moneymaker for her, in San Francisco. “But I was unhappy – and didn’t want to look back at 90 and realize I was always unhappy,” she says. “No one encouraged me to be a fine artist while growing up. My mom was an English teacher and my father was an attorney.”
So in the early 1990s, Rodriguez returned to school for art, training extensively for five years under master sculptor Harriet Moore. “No one taught classical sculpture with life models like Harriet did, and that’s what I was passionate about,” she says.
And as she was perfecting her passion, she also discovered a hidden talent for teaching. “While I was studying with Harriet, I started teaching others and it just came naturally,” she says. “Fellow students would encourage me to, teach, saying, ‘You seem to love sharing this with others.’”
Dreaming Artist, bronze sculpture Photograph courtesy of Mariyln Rodriguez
Rodriguez is renowned for her bronze sculptures that fluidly capture the human figure and animals through her signature depictions of movement, energy, and elegance. Her equine sculpture limited editions (usually only sculpted nine at a time) have been nationally recognized. She keeps busy working as Metamorphosis Landscape Design’s main outdoors fountain sculptor, working with local and internationally known interior designers and working as curator of the fine art exhibits of the annual Home and Art Show in the San Francisco’s Bay Area.
Rodriguez also hosts national fine art sculpture workshops at the San Francisco Legion of Honor Museum, including weekend workshops on the human hand. “How an artist renders the hand is a telltale sign of what kind of artist he or she is,” says Rodriguez. “There are so many bone landmarks.”
Rodriguez, who keeps busy on her own commission work, is also teaching students and interested, aspiring artists through her new book, due to be released in a few months, The Human Skeletal System: From an Artist’s Perspective.
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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: NEWS
“Copper” Mike Cole’s Motorcycle Art on View in Bespoke - July 10, 2011
Copper embellished motorbike Photograph courtesy of P.J.S. Exhibitions
Seeing the fine finishes such as hand-hammered copper, platinum leaf, and blown glass that cover Cole’s custom, luxury, high-performing motorcycles has a profound effect on viewers, including Lady Gaga. Gaga and her camp requested that Cole’s bike, Precious Metal (covered in platinum leaf, 14 karat gold, and his trademark copper,) accompany her on stage for the release of her new album, “Born This Way.”
“His bikes are pieces of art,” says P.J.S. owner Patrick Sullivan. “You discover new, exquisite details, finishes, and accents every time you walk around them. The rims are wrapped in leather! No one has ever wrapped rims in leather.” Nor has anyone ever gold leafed a motorcycle frame.
Michael Cole’s bikes have been featured in exhibitions in France and Monte Carlo, as well as in the windows of Atrium in Miami during Art Basel and The House of Savoia in New York. An icon of luxury craftsmanship, Cole was recently the spotlight on an episode of The Discovery Channel’s Two Wheel Thunder. The distinctive bobbers have also received honors at all major US motorcycle shows. They are defined as emblems of American style in the U.S. and in Europe.
Collectors have caught on to the talent that motorcycle aficionados have known about for years. “‘Copper Mike’ brings an artisanal quality to each of his one-off creations, which are finally getting the gallery backdrop they deserve,” says Ross Pantano, owner of Sin vitality drink and an original motorbike by Cole. “I knew I had the right builder who would create a beautiful, timeless, and functional work of art.”
In 2009, Renegade Magazine said, “Cole’s attention to detail is unlike anything else in contemporary motorcycle design.”
With a father who worked in Manhattan’s garment district, Cole was encouraged to study pattern making at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Soon after, he was building showcases and displays for every high-end retailer, including Georgio Armani, Louis Vuitton, Stella McCartney, Carlos Mieli, Elizabeth Arden, and Estee Lauder. It was with these companies that Cole began to experiment with platinum and gold leaf and define a style that bridged vintage, contemporary, and handmade design.
