The
Phoenix Zoo held an event in 2008 titled "Zoomation, Art
in Nature". The idea was to expose kids to interactive
art with a nature theme. Della Terra Studios was asked if there
was anything we could put together that would expose kids to
metal art. With safety being our main concern, we decided to
forge a copper tree, and let kids embellish the tree with copper
foil, wire, and beads. We used a slightly thicker copper foil
than you would find in an art store thats normally used for
embossing. We cut each leaf blank out by hand and made sure
all sharp edges were removed. A copper tree was forged from
solid copper and installed at the Zoo prior to the event.
The
tree was named "The Blooming Copper tree" and was
a success. Most days we were pretty swamped with kids pounding,
twisting, punching, and of course smiling as they cranked out
leaves for the tree in the hundreds. As the days went on, we
started to get "repeat customers". Their parents would
tell us how much their kids loved working with metal, and how
they wanted to return to make more. We gave out lots of information
on where to purchase material so their kids could keep working
with metal at home.
We
would like to thank the Phoenix Zoo for letting us contribute
to this event and all the parents that brought their children
to the Blooming Copper Tree.
Matt
Weber, Metal Artist
Della Terra Studios
Here
are some pictures from the event:
