A Copper Alliance Member
Copper in the Arts
Issue #66: October '12 - Cont'd
The Electrifying Copper of Drury Lane Studios
Visitation. A visually rich tapestry of copper. Using copper foil
and copper wire.
Photograph courtesy of Jonathan Drury
Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he earned a BFA from Louisiana State University but drew most of his inspiration from his dad.
“My father worked as an electrician for 44 years so he had lots of experience installing and fixing electrical devices, says Drury. This was the impetus for Drury’s copper inspired works of art, which are also practical.
“Someone once described my work as copper origami,” he says. And in seeing the way he bends wood, copper and electricity into functional lamps, they might be right. “There is a lot of satisfaction working with my hands; a joy that comes from making something beautiful and useful.”
From that springboard Drury set about making unique lamps.
“I love to work with light, copper, brass and electricity,” he says. “My 20 years of industrial and commercial construction experience helps me achieve these lamps.”
Copper and brass lamp.
Photograph courtesy of Jonathan Drury
“Copper has a time and a place, and I wanted my work to be interactive, something visually substantial, so the ridges, the bending and folding of the copper really adds depth,” he notes. Drury works his copper in his studio and anneals it by hand. He will apply linseed oil on the wood, and he prefers a patina on his copper, either a natural patina, or vinegar (“the standby,” as he calls it) to accelerate the visual changes and meld with the soft wood tones. “Copper has such a range, which is why it’s such a great metal; I love it shiny, I love the green patina, I love the natural brown it achieves,” he says.
His work has been shown in solo and group shows in California, Louisiana, New York and Virginia and he aims to keep the public’s attention through his website and shows, realizing that it takes time to cultivate a buyer-seller relationship. “One woman told me it would take three years before people make a purchase,” he recalls. “True or not, relationships are always key.” An upcoming juried arts show at Pro Arts in Oakland, California, December 7th to January 12th will undoubtedly see people flocking to Drury Lane Studios’ unusual and fascinating copper work.
Resources:
Drury Lane Studios, (925) 895-7997
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Whim Originals: Unique Jewelry with An Industrial Edge
Copper necklace.
Photograph courtesy of Lynne Wiencek
A middle school art/computer graphics teacher, then a project manager for software companies, Wiencek went to Port Austin to help care for her aging parents, and stayed. She began making jewelry utilizing buttons, beads, crystals and even objects like the gears on her steampunk necklace which employs a new and complex technique. Pieces are buffed with a brush to impart a high shine and contain three coats of varnish to prevent discoloration. Most designs cannot be replicated since they are one-of-a-kind. Because of her individualized style, she named her business Whim Originals.
"I transitioned to working with metals due to my love for tools and the physicality of pounding, sawing, heating and hammering,” says Wiencek. “I like equipment with history and look at yard/garage sales or Ebay. When I first arrived in Port Austin, an octogenarian lapidary/gemstone artist adopted me and my work and gave me many tools. I think of him often whenever I pick up a hammer he has contributed.”
Wiencek is drawn to the versatility of copper.
"Copper is my favorite,” she says. “I love the color, the glow it has when buffed and polished. I love the rainbow of colors produced when using a fire patina and the fantastic contrasts in light and dark when oxidized. It has that earthy warm quality that other metals don't. The malleability is special because while heated copper can be hammered and formed easily, it becomes strong when work hardened.”
Steampunk style pendant.
Photograph courtesy of Lynne Wiencek
Wiencek lives 90 minutes from any retail stores or malls and the hardware store nearby is open year round so, "I often go there just to browse. It's a valuable resource especially for my industrial-style creations. Some local electricians have donated copper wire for me to recycle into my jewelry, but my main source of material is the Internet. I order from far and wide and am on very good terms with the post office. Monster Slayer is my go to for copper wire and sheet."
Wiencek spoke of her group membership. "In July of 2011, I was juried into The Artisan Group out of California. It focuses on getting artists' work in front of celebrities, stylists and publicists plus offers great opportunities. My business card was included in celebrity gift bags at the 2012 Academy Awards. I have gifted celebrities Ginnifer Goodwin, Drew Barrymore, Christina Hendricks and Amanda Seyfried."
Her latest focus is wire wrapping or "stitching" with copper wire. A frame is formed, then a 24-gauge, copper-supporting wire mesh is made. A ninety foot roll may be used in the process. Wiencek plans to continue working with larger, more complex pieces and the leather/copper combinations which have become her passion.
Resources:
Whim Originals, P.O. Box 728, Port Austin, MI
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The ArtistSandbox: LED NightLight Rings Illuminate Evening Hours Between Copper and Brass
These rings belong to the Steampunk Collection. The left
one features copper while the right one features brass.
Photograph courtesy of Justin Greer
“I’ve always been fascinated with light,” Geer admits.
Geer graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre and currently lives outside of Atlanta.
He is a man of many talents. As an actor who has appeared in the Vampire Diaries and largely focuses his talents in the independent film industry, Geer incorporated his copper rings as complementary gifts to the audiences at the private screenings of Pulse of the Indigo in Los Angeles and the Dominican Republic.
And with each ring, he mingled in the bloody theme of the film with a bit of red paint at the corner—its adjustable band suited to fit any finger.
From this, he realized the potential to customize rings with any theme for any occasion. In fact, he recently designed rings for post-apocalyptic fairy tale heroines between a group of women in character as Rapunzel, Ariel, Snow White, Red Riding Hood and Belle.
A skull, moth and dragonfly are just some examples of custom themes in the NightLight rings. He also sometimes adds an owl pendant to rings, with the light shining through the winged one’s eyes.
“As a former Eagle Scout, I really enjoyed playing in the woods—being alone and figuring out how things worked,” Geer says.
These rings use mostly brass casings, but copper can
replace them, and mostly plated metal pieces are used
to build the ring. These rings use colored gels to give the
desired shade of eye color.
Photograph courtesy of Justin Greer
“The casings are all brass or copper, and those go around the actual light,” Geer explains.
Geer puts sandpaper to use to scuff up the surfaces of his copper, adding etchings and markings to the metal before affixing the illumination angles of his work. The colors of the lights are determined by film gels used in movie productions or by the hues of glass stones he integrates.
Gorgeously designed filigree bands in copper and brass join an antiquated lure to some of the rings.
The steampunk style in many of them draws in a lot of web attention, helped in part by Geer’s use of vintage brass stock car racing gears.
“I love that there’s functionality about it,” Geer says about the lighting aspects of the rings. “I have women who buy a ring just so when they’re in the car at night or in the theatre in the dark, they can use it to look through their purses.”
People who avidly participate in live action role-playing games, where old kingdoms might be set up in a forest, are one demographic where Geer has seen a lot of interest in his rings. A Swedish man recently bought a set of 10 for his team.
Not initially expecting such strong international sales through his Etsy shop, Geer has had people from Australia, China, the U.K., Canada, Norway, Denmark and Singapore ordering his rings.
“I really like the aesthetics of the metals,” Geer says. “For me, they are a reminder of the Renaissance and capture a gothic feel.”
Resources:
TheArtistSandbox, Duluth, GA, (323) 786-3707
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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
Masterworks by Tiffany Studios from the Geyer Family Collection to be Offered at Sotheby's - December 15, 2012
“Dragonfly and Waterflowers” Table Lamp, Circa 1910. Est. $300/500,000.
Photograph courtesy of Sotheby's
Other highlights include a rare “Peony” Table Lamp (est. $800/1.2 million) circa 1910. The shade was formerly in the Collection of The Charles R. Wood Foundation in Glen Falls, New York and is now presented with the striking Mosaic Turtleback base from the historic Tavern Club in Cleveland. Selections from the December sale will be on view in Hong Kong during the fall, and further details on the 2013 sales will be forthcoming.
“The Geyers are the most fervent collectors of Tiffany I have ever met,” notes James Zemaitis, Senior Vice President of 20th Century Design. “They have spent thousands of hours scouring the most obscure corners of the American landscape looking for museum quality works, whether it’s a chandelier that was hanging in its original interior for 100 years and was sold at a small Midwestern estate sale, or the rarest of desk set accessories in the ‘Grapevine’ pattern which they found buried in the backroom inventory of one of the founding ladies of the Tiffany gallery market in the 1970s. It is a great honor to be selling choice examples from their collection in December and in 2013.”
Over a span of 40 years, Burton and Paula Geyer have assembled one of the finest private collections of works by Tiffany Studios, with a special emphasis on museum-quality lamps and fancy goods. Starting in Brooklyn as schoolteachers, Mr. and Mrs. Geyer were enthusiastic collectors of Tiffany Studios works early on, often buying pieces on installment plans from top galleries. They learned from many of the pioneers of the Tiffany market, including Lillian Nassau, Gladys Koch, Beatrice Weiss and Simon Lieberman. Over the years, the Geyers slowly began assembling their impressive collection by combing auction houses, antique stores and galleries for the best of the best.
“After 40 years of passionately collecting works by Tiffany Studios, our journey has not yet ended, and we continue to curate and refine our collection. However, we have simply run out of room, and we are reluctantly parting with aspects of our collection so that the next generation of enthusiasts can enjoy these rare and beautiful works, rather than keeping them stored away in boxes,” says Mr. Burton Geyer. A rare “Dragonfly and Waterflowers” Table Lamp with a mosaic favrile glass “Arrowroot” base (est. $300/500,000), circa 1910, will also be offered in the sale. The Dragonfly is arguably one of the most iconic design themes associated with Tiffany, and as a unit, the shade and base pairing is a spectacular and rare creation. The sale also features a “Geranium” Table Lamp (est. $100/150,000) and a “Daffodil” Table Lamp (est. $80/120,000), both purchased from important Sotheby’s auctions over the past two decades, in addition to other table lamps, floor lamps, and chandeliers.
Resources:
Sotheby's, 1334 York Ave., New York, NY, (212) 606-7000
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