Jennah Litecky Yost

Artist Statement

We are a husband and wife team of artists who use the purest copper, manipulated to show its elemental characteristics and tempered with free hand craftsmanship, to create works of art whose function is solely aesthetic. The ancient utilitarian metal holds extensive beneficial innate properties. These properties, such as luminosity and flexibility, are showcased after we work the surface with modern tools and processes. A harmony of the ancient material and modern techniques culminate a multidimensional work whose aesthetic experience speaks to process and material.
The care of the process begins before we even have the base material; sheet copper. Our sheet copper is specifically chosen for the smallest amount of oxygen in the material; this allows the color to be the most vibrant we can achieve with the available sheet copper on the market.
The multidimensional quality of the finished work stems from multiple layers of action and various processes on the surface of the copper. The design process begins when the copper is worked with a rotating disc to ensure a blemish-free, pristine canvas on which the color will be deposited. This tool allows us to create the first layer of the image and use the reflective quality of the copper to create the illusory background, such as the sun rays in the trees.
Next, color is laid on the canvas through a process of oxidation to create a patina on the surface of the metal. We paint, freehand, the color on the copper with a flame torch. The process is very much like using a paintbrush, with the flame acting as the brush, depositing color onto the surface when it physically touches the copper. In order to achieve the vibrant colors, this process must be repeated, with the copper cooling in between each meeting with the flame.
After color is introduced, mark making is completed with various abrasive hand tools. These hand tools remove the color from the copper and expose the raw metal underneath. After the first mark making is complete, we recolor the copper with the torch flame and again mark the copper with our abrasive tools. This process is repeated numerous times to layer the color and design work and create the images on the copper. The marks that are laid on the surface are all freehand; the imperfect movement of the human hand is evident in the individual abstract and representational designs that adorn the surface of the copper.
We work with the copper, not on the copper. The metal itself is easily manipulated, yet very particular in what it accepts. The color and mark making are extremely tedious processes and must be completed with care since every mark that is made on the copper remains and cannot be erased. What is laid on the copper will stay and can only be enhanced by the continuation of the burning and abrasive techniques we use. The work is complete when the copper tells us it is finished– not before–not after.
The surface design is completed by using punches, hammers, and other common metalworking tools to embellish the facade and ready the completed piece for framing. A wood frame is hand made by the artist and altered as needed based on the requirements of the piece. The finished sheet of copper is fabricated around the wooden frame to classically exhibit the copper in its desired space. Finally, the finished copper canvas is clear coated to preserve luminosity, protect the design, and prevent further oxidation.
The designs we create are ephemeral and live momentarily in the studio. Each day manifests a specific intention to the design, which is idiosyncratic to our way being at the time and cannot be replicated. This fleeting inspiration in the design process creates a distinction between works, a fingerprint of our state of mind. Even when we attempt to replicate a design, the result is a direct reflection of our state of being at the moment of its creation. No two works are the same; ach work of art has a life and intention of its own.