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Copper artist Roy Trobaugh at work in his studio.
Roy Trobaugh creates the copper splash artwork; his wife Alice is in the studio by his side, a welding torch in hand, helping create the smaller pieces; and now his son Branden and daughter-in-law Deanna have come on board. About a year ago Roy decided to take a step back and hand over the reins of selling the artwork to his son Branden and daughter-in-law Deanna. Branden and Deanna are working hard to get the word out about this unique, colorful, handcrafted and handpicked copper splash artwork.
Copper Bowls by Roy Trobaugh
Roy has always been interested in rocks. He was born in Young, Arizona and moved to Globe in 1959. He worked for the copper mines for 38 years. An avid rockhound and member of the Gems and Mineral Society, it was while he was working at the copper mine that Roy saw the potential in the copper splashes created as part of the mine’s smelting process. When the mines are pouring copper to create copper anodes, one of the end results of smelting, there is a lot of copper spillage. Roy says, “When they are pouring these anodes they are pouring it on a great big wheel that has about twenty anodes on it that rotates. They pour about a half a million pounds a day. They are pouring pretty fast, and it splashes and splatters, and it really makes some neat shapes.”
Copper splash art by Roy Trobaugh
In 2002 Roy and his brother John put in a proposal to Phelps Dodge to buy these copper splash pieces. “On a cleanup day we would go over to the anode plant, and what they cleaned up off the floor we would go through it and find interesting pieces,” Roy says he and his brother would throw the pieces they liked aside and then the company would weigh the pieces out and write them up a bill. Once they got the splash pieces, they would have to clean them up. “When we get them they are all black. We clean them up and put them back in the heat, and that’s when the color comes on.” Every now and again the mine would do a sample to analyze the copper and its impurities and during those pours, the brothers would get one piece in the shape of a bowl.
They bought the splashes and bowls from the mine for three years. The brothers sold the copper splash artwork under the name Rocks by Nature. But after Freeport bought out Phelps Dodge, the mine canceled the brothers’ contract, and they decided to start creating their own copper splashes using smaller pours.
The splash pieces created at the mine were thick and heavy. Because the smelting process went on for days, the copper would build up which meant the pieces were often a half inch thick. By using a smaller furnace, and melting only 800 pounds of copper during a pouring session, the brothers were able to do more delicate work. They poured the copper onto a stainless steel plate that didn’t allow the copper to build up. The copper spread out, and the splash pieces they began creating were thinner, lighter, had better texture, and came in more variety of shapes. But creating the copper splash artwork is not without risk. The copper melts and comes out at of the furnace at 2,160 degrees Fahrenheit making it necessary for protective gear to be worn anytime a pour is done.
When the melted metal is poured into a ladle, it cools and creates a bowl. The overflow creates the copper vases. The hot metal flows into a vat, and when the metal in that vat is thin enough, they can empty the vat, and the shape that comes out is a vase. But Roy’s favorite pieces are the copper circles, which can be used as a backing for a mirror, or a picture frame. He creates the circles by pouring the copper from the ladle onto the stainless steel plate in a circle. The circles are the only pieces that are not created freeform, but even within the circles, it’s hard to find any two pieces that are alike.
Copper trees created by Alice Trobaugh
Roy’s wife Alice also works on the artwork, helping to create the smaller pieces. Alice retired last year and ever since she had been making a lot of the copper trees. The trees, the butterflies, and Kokopelli figures aren’t made using smelting, they are created by hand using a welding torch. On the trees, each leaf is a little drop or splash of copper. To create one small tree, there are as many as a hundred drops of copper used.
When Roy’s brother John passed away, Roy decided he would rather work behind the scenes. Roy’s son Brandan and daughter-in-law Deanna came into the fold and took over selling the artwork. Brendan says the best part of selling the art is, “it brought me a lot closer to my dad and my wife and my family.” Branden hasn’t been out with his father on a pour yet, but he is looking forward to it. He wants to learn all aspects of making the artwork. The most challenging part of selling the copper artwork? Branden says it’s, “Getting the information out about the art.” The public often has a misconception about the art when they first see it. People mistakenly think the copper splashes are a natural phenomenon. They don’t realize the time and effort that goes into making each piece.
Three generations of Trobaughs, from left, Deanna, Adrianna, Branden, Alice, Roy and Ezra.
Branden and Deanna created Copper Stores N More, a website where they showcase the copper art as well as sell it. Deanna is the driving force behind the company’s Facebook presence. The couple also sells the art at local events and festivals. Deanna says that doing the events has been a learning experience, trying to figure out which event is best suited to display their art. But for her, the best part of going to the events is, “meeting all the different people.”
You can find more information about the pieces on their website and find out which future events and festivals they will be attending at www.copperstorenmore.com.
There are more pictures of the copper splash art on their Facebook page as well as a video showcasing the pouring process.
Article by Cat Brown
There are news or informational items frequently written by staff or submitted to the Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner, Superior Sun, Pinal Nugget or Oracle Towne Crier for inclusion in our print or digital products. These items are not credited with an author.
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