Most people wear fashion, but few people create it. Alex VanLemmeren is a painter turned metalsmith who has spent the last decade perfecting her craft. The owner of Kopermoon Jewelry creates one-of-a-kind statement pieces out of completely raw sterling silver, copper, and brass.
“I cut and do everything from start to finish,” says Alex. “I love the process of how a sheet of metal can turn into beautiful pieces of jewelry.”
Alex creates earrings, rings, necklaces, bracelets, charms, and metal pendants from scratch in her studio space at The Artworks Center for Contemporary Art. She adds cabochons (polished, unfaceted gems) and precut, semi-precious stones like turquoise, amber, and moonstone to some of her pieces. In addition to jewelry making, she stays true to her first love, abstract painting, which was her focus in the fine arts degree she received in 2010 from Columbia College, Chicago.
When Alex was pursuing her degree, she had an extra class in her schedule to fill. So, she signed up for metalsmithing on a whim and fell in love with the art form. When she works on a canvas, Alex experiences a freeing form of self-expression, but the tedious jewelry-making process allows her to work a different part of her mind.
“I like to dip my hand in any artistic medium and see what happens,” says the artist, who also works with pottery, sculpture, collage, and linocut prints.
Alex opened her business six years ago under two different names before landing on Kopermoon, referring to “koper,” or copper in Dutch, to reflect her heritage and love of the natural world. She is inspired by the materials she uses, as well as what’s around her. She notices the shapes, colors, patterns, and textures of things in everyday life, whether they’re from something industrial, like old buildings, or the natural scenery she notices while fly fishing, backpacking, camping, or hiking with her dog, Brady Boy.
“Now that I have become confident in the jewelry-making process like I am with my paintings, I let the material guide and speak to me,” Alex says.
Here’s her process: First, Alex draws the shape of a piece on the metal, cuts it out, heats, and cools it slowly. Then, she uses a variety of techniques to alter the surface of the metal. She might texture it using different hammers, hand-etch patterns on the surface and finish the piece with an acid bath, or add a patina finish for color effects. Lastly, she puts the finishing touches on the shape of the piece by sanding and polishing the edges.
“I like to experiment to see how the metal is going to react,” Alex says.
Alex’s style typically sticks to geometric shapes such as rectangles, squares, circles, ovals, and teardrops. Her final look balances rugged, raw, and earthy, with colorful, fun, and funky.
“My pieces are not like the high-polished jewelry you see a lot of in stores. I’m trying to achieve something different and unique,” Alex says.
Alex sells her jewelry online at www.kopermoon.com, Cloz to Home and Vintage Willows in Loveland, and at festivals and events.
Kopermoon Jewelry
www.kopermoon.com
