Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Copper Pictures


This week, I get a two-fer. My favorite thing happens to also be vintage. How cool is that? So I'll be linking this blog to both Favorite Things Friday (or Favourite in Down Under-ese) and Vintage Thingie Thursday.

My great grandmother (the one whose quilts inspired me to take up quilting) made these two copper pictures.  She was one talented lady!  I love everything about these pictures--the way they look, the subject matter, and of course the fact that my great grandmother made them.  I'll admit that the picture of the oxen pulling the covered wagon is my very most of favorite of the two, because that one in particular reminds me of her.  She was born in 1900 and never left the county of her birth until after she was married.  She and my great grandfather were wheat farmers.  In addition to growing wheat, they lived off the land raising all their own food, and supplementing it with fishing and hunting.  While their life situation was a bit more secure than those who set out across the prairie only a few generations before, my great grandparents were not all that far removed from that type of life.

The picture of the oxen pulling the covered wagon was passed on to us after her death in 1982.  The flowers and butterfly came to me only two to three years ago.

These pictures were made sometime in the 1950's.  My grandfather, her son, said that she and several of her friends learned to do this together.  I don't know how they learned or who taught them.  I have no idea how they are made.  I did a search on Google, but as it turned out copper is used in a lot of art forms and since I don't know the name of the technique, I found all sorts of different types of artwork but none that looked precisely like this.  If anyone knows anything about it, I'd love to hear from you.

29 comments:

  1. Wow, I have never seen anything like these. They are incredible! I hope you find out more about how they were made. Beautiful work by your great-grandmother.

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  2. those are so neat. I have never seen anything like those before. Great treasure.

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  3. Copper pictures were really popular here in Australia in the late 1960's/1970's. I've just pulled a picture frame apart that had one in it! How weird is that?

    Yours are much nicer than the one I'm re-purposing. Your grandmother was indeed one talented lady. The picture with the flower is gorgeous!

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  4. I have seen copper pieces in the past, but nothing like these. You have some very nice treasures and memories as well. Enjoyed your blog and post.

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  5. These are beautiful. Your grandmother was incredibly talented, thank you for sharing!!

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  6. Michelle, I think the technique is called repousse. The most famous example of it is the Statue of Liberty! If you google the technique, you'll see a lot of images, some of which look like your pictures. Those are beautiful and quite a treasure!

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  7. What wonderful pieces of your family's past. They are very artistic pieces.

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  8. I have a copper picture of cats that I am pretty sure was made from a kit. I think most were made from kits, but I would guess there are originals and ones made from patterns too.

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  9. Your grandma was very talented.

    Those are great keepsakes.

    Thanks for sharing!

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  10. These are beautiful! I'm amazed by the amount of detail she put into each one. That's incredible!

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  11. Oh my goodness - these are just fabulous. I haven't even heard of copper pictures! Wow... I can see them being interpreted for wholecloth quilting. Perhaps, you could do that to add to the family heirlooms?

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  12. That is fantastic! How precious is that! Don't know much about copper, but I love to look at those pictures of yours. Thank you for sharing!
    Elzaan

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  13. Those are really neat! Being from Oregon, I like the "Oregon Trail" one best! :)

    Have a wonderful ViNtAgE tHiNgIe ThUrSdAy!!

    Sarah

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  14. These are amazing, I don't think I have seen any like them at all. What great family treasures. Have a great VTT!

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  15. How amazing, I have never seen anything like that before. Your grandmother was so talented, aren't you lucky to have them, thank you for sharing.

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  16. These are beautiful! What wonderful and unusual family heirlooms these are!

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  17. These pictures are really wonderful.How blessed that they are still in the family and not in some antique shop. Pray you have a blessed week. Debbie

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  18. Thanks for your nice comments on my post. I came over to visit and immediately noticed that beautiful turquoise quilt in your sidebar! Gorgeous!!!

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  19. Thanks so much for sharing these with us, I've never seen copper pictures before. It's so intriguing and these are so lovely!

    Happy VTT,
    Sally

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  20. Covered wagons, that reminds me of the time Great Grandma told me she remembered the first car. I was a teenager and couldn't fathom that. Until now, I told my kids about the first microwave that my parents bought. My daughter says, "that's why you heat up pasta by running it under hot water." She makes me smile.

    Great Grandma made some awesome crafts I sure do cherish all the things that got handed down to me too. Thanks for shearing.

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  21. Aren't heirlooms neat? They remind me of chalk rubbings, only like...times 10.

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  22. WOW they are stunning artworks.. what an amazing woman!

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  23. I can't say I've ever seen anything like that but they are beautiful and she did a great job.

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  24. She certainly was a talented lady and you say she was a quilter too. Multitalented!
    Cheers
    Helen

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  25. your grandma sure was talented! my dad used to make something similar, usually horses or boats.

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  26. My Nana did copper picture (they didn't look as good as your grandmothers) but she did them must have been the rage at the time.

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  27. Wow! How beautiful! Where were you grandparents Wheat Farmers? The top picture looks like one similar to something my Grandma had in her house. They were farmers in Kansas. Visiting from FTF. Thanks for sharing. Happy Friday! Larri at SeamsInspired

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  28. So, my first Fabulous Friday turns out to be a fabulous visit to your blog...what an interesting story. The work is amazing and so detailed...too bad no one has any more than the photos to tell the history, but no matter...truly treasures for you and the family to come after...

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  29. Wow, those are beautiful. And that your Grandma made them makes them so much more special.

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Your comments brighten my day. :-)