Making Animal Sculptures From Copper Sheet.

What I’m describing is an evolution of materials, techniques, and subjects for a series of copper sculptures that I have created over the past several years. I began with one project and expanded over the years in scope and theme. I had no master plan, just started with an idea that I wanted to explore as part of my retirement years. I’ll try to explain the series of changes & themes, and rationale for each. The common thread is forming copper pieces and then attaching them together to make the final sculpture.

Supplies

I incorporated a variety of standard tools and supplies (Copper sheet, solder, etc) throughout the series of projects. At times I adapted or created specialized tools to meet a specific need. I started with stained-glass solder because that is what I already had, but discovered that thin electrical solder was actually easier to use and more economical. I used a variety of torches for soldering, including an oxy-acetylene jewelers torch and a standard propane torch with a 4 foot hose attachment. I finally converted to a simple butane torch which provided more convenient utilization and an appropriate temperature range.

Step 1: Phase 1: the First Giraffe From Recycled Gutter Copper Sheet.

This all began in 2012 with a seven-foot standing giraffe that I made from surplus pieces of copper sheet acquired from a rain gutter company. I began by welding steel bars and attaching some copper pipe to make a “skeleton”. The various copper “skin” and body parts were cut to size and shape and hammered to create desired contours and features. The most challenging were the ears and head components. At the time I used a regular ball pean hammer and rubber pad for an anvil. The resulting pieces were attached with copper pop rivets to the skeleton and to the other parts to form the body components. I did not try soldering at that point as gutter copper is anodized and can’t be soldered. This first statue was more stylized than realistic and incorporated the existing properties of the various copper pieces that were available. The eyes were made from a standard 3/4” copper pipe cap. This piece has been placed outside but since the copper is anodized it has not corroded, however, it did develop a darker patina over the years

I used pop rivets for ease of construction since I could not reach inside the body to support a conventional rivet head. I chose copper rivets for appearance and to avoid the long-range corrosion effects of dissimilar metals.