Gayle Herman’s Love for Copper Morphs from a High Tech Valley to Artistic Alpines

By Frank Ross

A number of unique aspects add interest and reveal the nature of a new gallery and supporting studio that has opened in the high desert country of Sedona, Arizona. The first two letters in the name of the gallery and web site provide a hint into the background of Gayle Herman, artist and proprietor of Cu Form ++ Gallery. Cu is the chemical symbol for copper, so it should come as no surprise that Gayle is a chemical engineer that has reinvented herself as a copper artist after escaping from the high tech world of Silicon Valley.

“I’ve been high tech all my life. I was raised in Silicon Valley, started three companies there, sold two and took the third public, moved to Sedona and crossed over from a techie to become an artist,” she said. While that may seem like a difficult transition, Gayle says it was actually a simple process.

“I was able to use my skills in metallurgy and chemicals to make the copper do what I want it to do,” she said.

Cu Form is an innovative artistic method of encasement developed by Gayle that blends art and function into striking works that reflect the color and native landscape of Arizona. In an effort to combine beauty with function and form, she does mirrors and other decorative items to accent interior spaces and says that she has even used copper foil almost as a wallpaper to explore and express her passion for copper. She specializes in flora and fauna and her work utilizes a lot of flowers. She has also incorporated elements of Native American pseudo-morphed figures in the Southwest art for pieces to be used in exterior spaces but the majority of her work is created for interior spaces and interior design.

“I not only cover existing structures but I make freestanding structures also. I use thin copper foils in my work, so it’s not like I’m banging furniture with a ball peen hammer or anything like that. It’s a whole different approach to working with copper, using these micro thicknesses of copper. I’ve spent my life in metallurgy and chemistry, so this was a real fun project for me.”

“Copper has been my love for as long as I can recall. To me it has been a metal that is not intimidating. It’s not silver and it’s not gold, copper is a warm metal so I’ve always had this thing for it. I went out shopping for some copper art and I couldn’t find anything that I really liked. I could not find anything that wasn’t heavy and masculine, or industrial looking so I just said I’m going to develop a process to create what I like. I just worked and worked at it and the results are now featured in my gallery and on my web site http://cuformgallery.com/ArtInventoryWeb.html,” she said.

She considers Sedona to be the Santa Fe of Arizona with lots of art galleries and a similar creative atmosphere, but her gallery is the only one in the city that features an artist in residence. “We have a lot of foundries here because there are a lot of bronze sculpture people here that live in this area. So there are a lot of traditional artists and then there are a few of us that don’t do the traditional art and it has been very well received. The other galleries feature a collection of art work that is consigned from many different artists. My gallery is different because it is wholly owned by me and my husband, and I’m the primary artist, so that’s unusual.

“The other thing I’m trying to tie in with my gallery, being a scientist, I have a small museum here with copper chemicals and copper ores. Arizona is the copper state. More copper is produced in Arizona than any other state in the union. Tying in all of the mining, ores, chemicals and copper art together has been a fun thing to do,” she explained.

Gayle will not reveal the technique that she has developed for creating her copper art, but will say that she does not incorporate the use tin lead solders or metallic solders of any kind. Adhesives, without VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) are used in the method of joining the various copper components. Drawing upon her chemical engineering background, Gayle creates some stunning patinas as well as thermo-oxides to achieve the final colors in her work and then seals them with a protective coating.

Some of her work is featured on her newly launched web site http://cuformgallery.com/, but there is so much more in her Cu Form ++ Gallery and studio located in the Hillside Plaza in Sedona. Next time you’re in the copper state, drop in for a visit. There is sure to be something to catch your eye.

Naturally Gayle’s choice for purchasing copper is quickshipmetals.com. If you have an artistic inclination that requires copper, give us a call. 1-800-334-2177.