Copper and Fire: 2018

Sarah Groves is a metalsmith/jeweler working with copper, silver, gold, pearls and natural gemstones. She is returning to Copper & Fire because she enjoys talking about her work and how it is made. Since she often talks about copper, a copper mine is the perfect setting for this.

Sarah enjoys meeting and engaging with people who are interested in her work by presenting and demonstrating at the Museum. She finds that in many gallery settings, this interaction does not occur. She says that “explaining and demonstrating how a 3D copper object is formed from flat metal and wire is a lot of fun!”

Sarah enjoys her medium because metal – gold, silver, and copper – has a “plastic” property which makes it responsive to forming, shaping and texturing. She especially enjoys working with copper because of its malleability, beautiful color and receptivity to various patinas. Although metalsmithing is her passion, Sarah incorporates natural gemstones, pearls and occasionally other materials into some of her work. She also enjoys drawing and painting.

Sarah’s experience as a printmaker and ecologist influences her designs which often incorporate a variety of textures and references to natural objects. Most of her abstract work has some reference to nature and her representational work is usually about animals or plants.

Sarah will be shaping flat pieces of copper into 3D works of art at Copper & Fire. She hopes that the public will gain some understanding of the properties of copper and how these influence the way copper is used by artisans and the industry. Her advice for aspiring artists is to “follow your artistic muse, try different things, don’t be afraid!”

You can meet Sarah and view, purchase and/or watch her demonstrate at Copper & Fire on Saturday, September 15 from 10:00AM – 3 :00PM. Click here for more information.

Sarah Groves’ Biography

Sarah is a metalsmith/ jeweller working with copper, silver, gold, pearls and natural gemstones. Her original designs are forged (hammered), fabricated or cast using the lost-wax process. Her experience as a printmaker and ecologist influences my designs which often incorporate a variety of textures and references to natural objects. Sarah enjoys experimenting with different ways to color copper and brass using substances from the kitchen, grocery store and backyard. She teaches Jewellery Techniques I & II at Vancouver Community College and runs summer workshops on patinas at Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill on Cape Cod.

Sarah designs and makes all of the jewelry at Blue Box Design and delights in taking a piece of metal and transforming it into something new whether it is her own design or a commission that emerges through collaboration with a client. Sarah works in Vancouver BC.