Since around 2003 I have been tinkering with copper sculpture. My brother introduced me to it and neither one of us has set it down since we started. I must say that, while I know my work is pretty cool, my brother’s is amazing. He is my biggest inspiration!
Ready for a challenge, I set out to create something outside of my comfort zone during the summer of 2013. So I thought, what about fluid-looking legs? That would be something. So this octopus crawled out of my imagination once I poked at it with a stick. I remember sitting on the lawn in the shade, cutting and twisting up wire and thin sheet copper next to the garden during the day. To form the head of the octopus I wrapped sheet copper around an apple that fell off the tree. Never underestimate the objects around you when creating art, I sure don’t! I was able to destroy the apple to get it out, then I pounded the hollow sphere into a more octopus-head-like shape and punctured it to create eyes. In the evening I took it inside the shop and soldered it together.
These are some copper supplies that I commonly work with… hollow copper tube, thin sheet copper and a thicker sheet copper, and various gagues of copper wire.
The octopus was made completely out of copper wire and the thin version of sheet copper that I have. It’s so thin that I need to solder it carefully because if I apply too much heat for too long it will burn through. The following photo was taken while I was making another copper product I love to create – copper orchid pots – and not the octopus.
It’s on my list to take more photos and video while I work on copper creations in the future. You bet that another octopus is on the list.