New Artists in Old Town Berea

New Artists in Old Town Berea

Tucked away in "Old Town" Berea, Kentucky is a street full of shops run by artists who sell their handmade art and craft. These artists often create one-of-a-kind pieces that cannot be found anywhere else. The most recent addition to this elite group of shopkeepers are Nora Swanson and Dale Brandt, who specialize in crafting copper and brass jewelry and architectural elements for the home and then applying oxidized patinas to the pieces.

Nora originally is a native of Boulder Colorado, Dale hails from Troy Ohio; they moved to Berea in the spring of 2009 from Denver. Why move from Colorado to Kentucky? "We get that question a lot," says Nora. "The idea to move to Kentucky was actually Dale's. He had the foresight to see that this area was within a day's drive of several major cities, giving us the access for potentially doing business in those areas. Once I started looking into it, I was drawn to the climate region because I love gardening. You can do a much wider variety of gardening in Kentucky than in Colorado, and for a longer growing season."

"As far as why we chose Berea specifically, we actually had no idea that this was an artist's community. We looked around in Louisville and Lexington first, and then headed south and discovered Berea. It was a perfect match; it felt like it was meant to be."

It wasn't long after Nora and Dale had found a place to live in Berea that Nora was presented with the opportunity to open a store in Old Town Berea. "The price and the timing were right and everything seemed to point in that direction. I fell really privileged to be able to join the kinds of artists that reside here."

A stop into Nora's store is like a mini-visit to a museum. The jewelry has a very ancient quality to it, while having a funky, modern appeal as well. "We like to make things that look like they could have been unearthed at an archaeology dig, but can fit with modern culture as well. We also like that our jewelry can be worn with very casual clothing but look very elegant if dressed up."

So how are the pieces made? "We start with raw materials from scrap yards and recycling centers, mostly copper and brass sheet metal. Then we trace the shapes from templates, and cut them out with tin snips. A few of our shapes are outsourced for cutting by dies, but that's about as far as it gets from not being completely processed by us. Then we hand hammer most of the pieces on the end of a cut log to give them an aged and distressed look." Sure enough, Nora has a log at her store, which stands on end next to her workbench, so that passer-bys can watch her tapping away, or she can conduct demonstrations for guests. "After that, the pieces have holes drilled in them and then all the rough edges are buffed down."

For the spectacular colorings, the pieces are put through a "patina spa" as Nora describes it. "We can't tell you exactly how it's done; that's the super-secret part." says Nora, smiling, "but we can say that we use different combinations of chemicals that are applied to the pieces. The free-floating electrons in the air get trapped by the chemicals and then bond permanently into the positively charged metals. There are no paints or dyes involved in this process. We're recreating the natural oxidization process, like on copper roofs that have turned green, but we can deliberately produce a range of colors."

Once the patina has set in, the pieces are washed three different ways and multiple coats of a specialized protective clear-coating is applied, to prevent any color change by further oxidization. Then the pieces are assembled into finished jewelry by adding rings, chains, earring hooks, etc. "It's a long process from start to finish," says Nora, "I finally counted it up and each piece of metal is handled at about 17 times during the entire process."

Since moving from Colorado, Nora says that the patina "recipes" have changed quite a bit. "We realized right away that we were going to have to update our recipes, because the atmosphere is so different here. We've spent the last year creating new recipes that are, in my opinion, better that anything we've seen so far. Kentucky air is good to us!"

"We're getting consistent results from a few of the recipes, and they've earned nicknames to describe the colors." Nora points out some of the color families. Juicy Blues, Nutmeg, Chocolate Love, and Melon Patch are just a few of the "standards" available. Each purchase also comes with a certificate of authenticity and pedigree.

Nora goes on: "But because the results are so dependent upon what's floating around in the air, the patina color and pattern varies a bit from piece to piece and from batch to batch. There may be a thunderstorm passing over, a different kind of pollen in the air, or a neighbor burning leaves upwind of us and these kinds of things can affect the results of our work, sometimes subtly, sometimes dramatically. It makes every piece truly one-of-a-kind."

On the back wall of Nora's store is evidence of further artistry. A picture-frame folding screen holds photos of home installation projects such as range hoods, counter tops, and doors. "Any of the patinas in our store can be applied to a larger piece of copper and brass. This was Dale's main line of work for seven years prior to when we met. I got the idea for making jewelry when I saw two similar scraps of copper on the floor and thought they would make a great pair of earrings. We started making copper and brass jewelry after that."

When asked about focusing specifically with copper and brass, Nora answers, "We've been approached a few times about working with gold and silver, but they don't accept the patinas. I've become very fond of copper and brass and just prefer to specialize, and besides, we've only just scratched the surface of what we can do with these metals. I'm so excited about what is still yet to come."

Nora Swanson Arts is located at 121 North Broadway Street, Berea, Ky 40403. For more information, contact Nora Swanson at 859-866-2420 or visit www.nswanson-arts.com.