Copper Leaf Studios

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Open Studio

Summer/ Fall 2020
Copper Leaf Studios is now open for visits by appointment!

We’re located on a private farm in Ashtabula, Ohio in the heart of wine country.
There are approximately 60 works of art on display for purchase or browsing.
We’re also here to discuss any custom needs you may have.

For safety reasons (and state mandates), masks are currently required during visits, and guests will be limited to 6 at a time – so advanced notice is kindly requested.

COVID Concerns:

Masks are required of all guests per state mandate.
Guests are limited to 6 persons at a time.
High-touch surfaces are cleaned between guests.
Air filtration systems and/ or natural ventilation will be used during & after all visits.

Have questions regarding the space or safety? Just ask.

Ready to Plan Your Trip?

Contact Us

New Work: Botanicals

 

Hello all,

In my last newsletter, I talked about taking some time away from large commissions to go in a new direction. It’s been a while since I’ve made a whole new body of work, and I was long overdue. But I’m oh-so-pleased with the results, and excited to share them with you.

As I was laying out the parameters of my new work, I decided to go back to my roots. When I first started out as an artist many moons ago, I worked in fabric. My mom is a quilter, so I picked up the medium early in life – my first creative “language”. I began exploring metal nearly 20 years ago, but some days fabric still feels like home. So when I started the new series, I decided to treat the metal like fabric and make a sort of metal “quilt”. I experimented with a variety of techniques and textures on small pieces, but kept the colors limited so they could be arranged into larger designs.

The above piece is the start of a larger body of work I’ll be creating over the coming weeks and months. Also, because I think variations on this design would look amazing over a mantel or similar focal space, I want to open up this style to custom size and color combinations. If you have a space that would be perfect for a gorgeous one-of-a-kind piece, I’d love to design something for you.

I also experimented with etching botanical forms into metal. I’m a huge believer in turning to nature for inspiration – I grabbed my camera and wandered around our farm in the cold, admittedly not expecting to find much. But I was surprised by how beautiful the herbs and flowers were when stripped bare of all but their stalks and seedpods. The above botanical pieces were the result of this exploration – click any of the images to view more. The image at the top of this newsletter is the largest of these designs, and one I’m especially proud of.

The pieces above were a melding of both ideas, botanical imagery + patterned metal. They were inspired by a set of photos I took of dried cornflower stems, but I love that they became something more abstract when cut and etched into metal. Some people see a leaf, some see branches, some see rivers… nature has her own artistic refrain. These pieces are 8×10 inches, but I’m looking forward to exploring some larger designs in this vein soon as well.

Especially for you~

I have two special offers to share with you, dear readers. The first is an exclusive peek at the new work that is available for purchase. These pieces have not been shown publicly aside from snippets online, although I am currently in negotiations with a potential venue. I wanted to share them here first, and give you first pick before they go out into the world. Click on any of the images above to view the current collection online. I’ll be updating it as items are added or sold, or once the series finds a home. Feel free to share this link with family or friends, and many thanks if you do.

Second, a freebie. I am having a small run of postcards printed with images of the new work. If you would like one, click here to leave your address. Hang it on your fridge, share it with a friend, or leave it as a hint if you’re the hard-to-buy-for type ;) The postcards are free, and, as always, your personal information will be kept completely confidential. It’s my way of saying thank you. And should you find the artwork itself irresistible, well, you know where to find me.

(*If you’re outside the U.S., I’ll send you a lovely digital postcard.)

Thanks as always for reading, and I hope you enjoy~

~Chris

Our Future Together: An Engineering Love Story Told in Copper

Copper Engineering Diagram Art by Copper Leaf Studios

 

I recently had the opportunity to create what may be one of my favorite anniversary commissions ever ~ a love story told through engineering graphs.  It may have been the geekiest of romances — two college students passing love notes in the lecture hall of a biomedical engineering class — but sometimes love shows up in mysterious places.  The important thing is to embrace it when we find it.
Mina & Steve were married seven years ago.  To celebrate their anniversary, she dusted off their old textbook and asked if I could print one of the graphs onto copper.  (It didn’t much matter which one, she noted, because they had been too busy flirting to have paid attention to what any of them meant.)
I’m a sucker for a good story, and a creative challenge.  I’d met Mina once before, and thought she might be up for a playful approach to her original idea.  So I asked for some personal info — first date, favorite song, etc. — and started replacing the equation labels with things that would make the piece more meaningful.

 

engineering diagram 1   Engineering Diagram 2

 

Two of my favorite panels are above.  “Effects of Baby Over Time”, above right, is a cheeky attempt to include their first child who is on the way.  The graph reminded me of a growing belly, so I stretched it a bit and changed the text.  “Our Future Together”, above left, felt like the quintessential “happily ever after” sunset pic.  I cropped all but one section of the graph, and used it as the focal point of the artwork.  I photoshopped out some of the more personal info, but you can see the finished copper piece above.  Happy Anniversary to Mina & Steve ~ here’s to many more!

 

Take care, and hug your loved ones~
Chris

A Tree Named Stella


Cherry Tree mini art ~ click for info

 
Toward the back of our yard we have a long open strip we’ve nicknamed “the orchard”, despite containing nothing more than grass.  Since fruit trees cost both time and money, it would be years at the earliest before we could stroll along and pluck juicy peaches and plums from flowering branches.  But the potential is there, at least in our imagination.

Stella Cherry Tree

 
To celebrate our first anniversary and our first summer on the farm, I wanted to take one little step toward that orchard dream.  I ordered a small cherry tree and gave our orchard a proper groundbreaking.  The tree is little more than a stick with a few leaves still clinging, but it is the start of something wonderful.
 

Take care, and have a great week :)

Chris

Bascule Bridge

Bascule Bridge  (click image for more info)

 

When we moved to the farm, we were expecting much of what comes with living out here ~ the fresh air, the calm and quiet.  But we didn’t know we were only minutes away from a small but bustling community filled with great restaurants, boutiques, and energy.

 

There is pretty much one of everything — one coffee shop, one pizza place, one barbecue joint, one chocolate shop, one salon.  All top of their game, and all very supportive of one another.  (When we complimented a young entrepreneur by suggesting she open a bakery, she dismissed us by saying “We already have one.  She was on Cupcake Wars, you know.”).

 

The location of this energy is no accident.  Bridge Street is situated at the mouth of the Ashtabula Harbor, once the busiest port along the Great Lakes.  A railroad yard creates a giant loop, connecting the massive barges to an unending supply of coal and ore.  A Bascule bridge graces the end, lending its name to both the street and the corner restaurant.  Between the industrial nature of the harbor and the detailing of the old brick buildings, the area begs to be photographed.

 

   
Breakwall (left);  Barge (right) – click for more info

 

I hope to keep adding to the series, and print some on zinc as well.  For these I used copper that I gave a deep heat patina ~ an orange so dark it burned to pink around the edges.

 

The header image shows the Bascule bridge in all its glory.  The pic above right is an enormous barge that came into the harbor on a night I was lucky enough to have my camera.  I’m sure bigger boats exist, but I’ve not seen one.  It dwarfed the tiny inlet, and had to leave the way it came.  Click on any of the images for more info – the 4×4″ sample pieces are currently available at a discounted rate — or click here to learn more about custom metal photos made from your images.

 


Brick bldg. (click for more info)

 

This newsletter is dedicated to Bridge Street, and to all the entrepreneurs and visitors that fill it with life and energy.  If you’re ever in the area, try one of everything ~ it’s all wonderful. And of course stop by to say hello :)

Take care, and have a great week :)

Chris

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