Della Terra Studios Zoomation Event, 2008 at the Phoenix Zoo

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

Here are some pictures from the event:

 

s