Copper & Torch A BURNING DESIRE TO CREATE

Written by KATHERINE HENDERSON

PHOTOGRAPHY

entering Lindsay Troutman’s home studio brings on distinct vibes of natural-history-museum-meets-classroom-meets-creative-wonderland. The multidisciplinary artist behind Copper & Torch artisan glass surrounds herself with inspiration from a dizzying array of items that seem to have floated in on one of the four winds. From the field or forest, seashore or sidewalk, attic chest or artist’s hand, these tidbits settle into position waiting for a turn under the magician’s wand. Well, in this case, the magician’s torch.

“It’s not really a torch per se, like in metal-smithing,” Troutman clarifies. “In this, I use a soldering iron, so the word ‘torch’ in the name is based on the heating element. Then under the stained glass is this copper foil that adheres the solder. The copper is in every piece.”

A graceful sweep of her hand gestures toward finished pieces. Glass vases, necklaces, trays, terrariums, curio boxes, ornaments and adornments all wink and glint in the light, refracting hues from either the glass itself or an object it encases. The technique for this medium is one she learned years ago in high school as she explored her creativity with other kids interested in similar pursuits.

“I learned through friends, it wasn’t at school,” she says. “We’d all get together and do crafts like tie-dye or batik or make paper or whatever. Some were into stained glass and they taught the rest of us. We were quirky art kids that wanted to learn everything.”

Curiosity Ignited

When Troutman finished college and started a family, she started making art on the side for her own enjoyment. Eventually, people began to notice her skills and then invited her to contribute in art shows.

“It was thoroughly in my soul to be creative, to be an artist,” she says. “I didn’t have the funding to go to art school, but every time there was a community art class, I’d take it. When I wanted to learn printmaking, I went to a class taught by people who have master’s degrees in printmaking. I will get the education, even if it’s in piecemeal; it’s not all at one time in a BFA or MFA program.”

With her own four children, she continued to model and encourage the same exploratory learning she had valued in high school, fostering their creative spirits by homeschooling with holistic spin.

“I taught them to read, we did a ton of nature walks and learned by experience in nature. I was a Montessori kid, so it’s kind of ingrained in me to let learning happen,” Troutman details. “We just spent our time together baking, walking around outside, picking stuff up, inspecting it, painting, reading tons of books– that was how I basically structured our days. In college, I double-majored in English literature and education. It was always my heart to teach kids and help them realize that they can be creative and live a creative life. You can draw an apple without having it look like an apple. It can be kind of crazy, you can Picasso it up and it’s okay, you know?”

Top left and right When given particularly sentimental items to incorporate into a special custom project, Troutman delights in the narrative behind those pieces and treasures the act of sharing their story. Nature has always been one of Troutman’s greatest teachers and taking regular forest walks provide a huge source of joy, so she enjoys incorporating elements of the natural world in her creations.

Bottom right Paper of all variations captivates the artist who loves the process of making special pieces out of everything from photos and invitations to maps and memorabilia.

She transitioned her creative teaching methods outside the home when life called for a directional shift.

“When my ex-husband decided to go to law school, we moved to Athens and I put all the children in school because I needed a job to support us [while he studied],” she confirms.

A friend of hers founded a craft school and asked her to teach some classes, starting with a needle-felting class for adults and then going on to develop curricula for children’s classes, giving her a platform to delve into new territory. At home, Troutman continued pursuing her artistic interests for the benefit of the whole family – when the budget was tight and a gift was needed, she made something.

A spark flickers

This heralded the birth of Copper & Torch.

“I was looking around trying to decide what to make for a gift, noticed a broken picture frame and thought, ‘you know what? I could repurpose. I can solder that into something,’” she recalls.

The resulting terrarium vase was a resounding success as measured not only by the praise from the recipient but also by the ensuing social media frenzy. After posting a photo of the vase, Troutman was slammed with messages from friends and referrals asking to order a vase. Soon, the organizer of a craft show invited her to exhibit her vases.

“I made a whole bunch and sold them out on the first day of a two-day event!” she exclaims. “I spent the entire night making as many as I possibly could… which wasn’t too many. It’s a time-consuming process. They all sold out again. It was so exciting and I thought maybe it could be a side business.”

The side hustle begets a serious bustle as Troutman pulled together resources to get a small business off the ground. Within the incubator of the Athens creative community, she collaborated, and bartered to figure out her branding and launch a website on a shoestring budget. She hired students for internships or offered them studio hours toward their degrees. She sought out business develop- ment advice and researched workshops, landing in one that made a huge impact on her goals.

“I attended The Makers Summit in South Carolina, which included Jeni Britton from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream and Anna & Nathan Bond from Rifle Paper Company,” she effuses. “I got to sit with these incredible brains who said ‘here’s how you market, here’s how you promote, here’s how you scale up if you want to go big and here’s how you stay small and still be successful.’ I decided at that moment, I never want to be a factory. I always want to have my hand on each piece. Even if I have studio helpers, I want to be the finisher. This is something that gives me just as much joy creating it as the person receiving it. I want to touch every piece before it goes out the door.”

Light it up

That door swung wide open in 2014 when an email from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine editors petitioned her for more than a dozen pieces to be featured in a summer issue.

“It blew up,” confesses Troutman. “I had to hire two people. That was a major thing to happen for an artist with a new business. It was incredible. I’m grateful that I had that opportunity to see what that was like, but I knew I wanted to stay small.”

Small and personal. What emerged as vases has evolved into a full spectrum of possibilities for glass artistry.

“When I’m contacted by someone who wants something special or custom, that’s my favorite,” Troutman says. “I love the opportunity to make fresh and new things, or preserve something old or special – photographs, wedding dresses, quilt pieces, whatever people send me. Someone sent me sea glass and wanted a tiny little container; somebody sent their wisdom teeth and wanted to encase them. I said, ‘Okay, I got you!’ People have things they want to save for whatever reason and I just enjoy giving them the opportunity.”

All aglow

There are several items she produces for retail markets, craft fairs or as corporate gifts. These include the vases that started it all and the best-selling series of Christmas ornaments featuring themes such as The Big Chicken, Atlanta Braves and Georgia Bulldogs. Unique necklace styles are popular also.

“I have these pieces I call the Nature Walk Necklace, inspired by my oldest child,” Troutman elaborates. “When she was little, she would stuff her pockets with things from outside. The necklace mimics the design of my vases so she could wear it and put her treasure in the necklace as a mini-terrarium around her neck.”

Other necklaces showcase a glass pendant encasing an unexpected focal point of lace or pressed feathers, some constructed from items Troutman finds but many from special requests.

“I received lace from the 1920s, from a grandmother’s wedding dress,” she describes. “The client requested necklaces made for every female member of the family–I like the feminine lace with the modern feel of the iron around it.”

She’s received similar requests for bridesmaids as a wedding memento, and wedding invitations seem particularly suited for Troutman’s glass trays.

“I really love to do wedding invitations,” she muses. “They’re special, they’re pretty; I love looking at the paper and seeing how people see their relationship through stationary. Actually, trays work well for so many things — encyclopedia pages, maps, wine labels, pressed flowers, postage stamps, snake skin, four-leaf clover… the sky’s the limit with what you can put in glass, and there’s always a story in the piece.”

The shelves and stacks around the studio space corroborate this affirmation, boasting a library of these narratives.

“I love literature — English major, right?” she chuckles, “and I’ve noticed that the things I love about the writers I read are the way their stories detail connections to other humans…That might be why, in my art, I love these connected storyline pieces… I’m making something that’s an instant heirloom for you.”

To learn more about Copper & Torch visit www. copperandtorch.com