Creativity Gets Large in Augusta

BY JIM WINNERMAN

Rest assured the giant duck in Augusta with an immense 24-foot wingspan was not fed an experimental food. Instead, the huge mallard drake is the product of the exceptionally imaginative minds and artistry of coppersmiths Brian Watson and Ben Boyher, a talented duo specializing in creating larger-than-life sculptures fashioned from recycled, naturally aged scrap metal. Surprisingly, the monumental size pieces of art they craft are not the product of a formal art education. Ben has a lifetime of construction and carpentry experience, and Brian’s background is in engineering and computer technology. Ten years ago they started a business making and installing residential copper teaching themselves how to do ornamental work like bay windows and creating what are known as standing seams in metal roofing. They developed their own techniques for flashing and water-proofing that set themselves apart from the competition by focusing solely on quality over quantity and combining modern tools and materials with old-world craftsmanship. “We created everything on-site so it always fit correctly. Brian says. “After hundreds of jobs, we never had a single unhappy customer. Not one call-back or a single leak. While that felt good, we were looking for something more creative.” In 2014, and after Brian had been sculpting with metal for fun in his spare time he had the out-of-the-ordinary thought of making an oversize C. F. Martin guitar crafted from repurposed metal. “As a lifelong guitar player, I had thought before of making my own instrument so the idea of creating a guitar really appealed to me, and it seemed like it would be fun to craft.” Soon he was collecting artifacts and scrap from residents in Augusta where he lives and even dragging rusty metal from the woods in and around town. “When the piece was finished, people would recognize things they had donated and that really added another layer of meaning”, Brian said. Three years later in 2017 the 12-foot-tall instrument was completed and placed on the front lawn of Brian’s Augusta home where it was admired by passersby, including Zoe Perkins, Kirkwood Arts Commission Chair. She arranged to have it used as a centerpiece of the annual Kirkwood Cars and Guitar Festival. Subsequently a local Kirkwood philanthropist purchased it for the city and it is now on permanent display in the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center. “People with knowledge of Martin guitars will recognize it has Martin’s legendary bracing and the timeless D-series body. The relative proportions are all in keeping with the real thing.” Brian says. When the guitar was finished the men joined together to devote more time and energy to the art and creating specialized tooling for doing repousse panel work, which is the art of hammer-forming a copper sheet from the back. “We started to incorporate these reliefs of ducks, bears, elk, bison and other wildlife, into the range hoods and bay windows that we had already been doing professionally,” Brian remembers. “When we realized how much we enjoyed creating art, we decided to go really big,” Ben recalls. “Knowing how much people enjoyed the guitar, we accepted a commission and took on creating a 12-foot-tall sasquatch as our first large-scale piece together.” They explain the variety of materials and equipment needed to work large, and solving one-of-a- kind problems, is what keeps the day to day work really exciting.

They work well together and there is a real easiness about their interaction, demonstrating the countless hours they have spent together. “Brian’s wife is my cousin so we have known each other for a really long time” Ben explains. Brian agrees, “There’s a trust that I just don’t think a lot of business partners share, which really just leaves the work without the politics.” In late 2021 the men fashioned the mallard, which in fact is thought to be among the largest mallard drake sculptures in the world. Like the guitar it is created from repurposed scrap and was displayed along the road in front of their shop when completed. “The thing became so big it would no longer fit in the shop. We rolled it outside where everyone in town got to watch the final half of the build. It felt like everyone was behind us, like they were all in on it” Brian said. “We live in a pretty tight knit community of 291 residents so they kind of were. There were lots of questions and ‘selfies.’” Now they are working on a commission of an American Bald Eagle descending and catching a timber rattlesnake in its claws. The snake itself will be 11 feet long, with 3600 individual scales, The eagle’s wingspan will be 18 feet, all out of copper over the top of a stainless-steel armature entirely hidden within the piece. The sculpture has been commissioned by a resident of Augusta and Brian and Ben are excited it will be on display locally. “This is definitely the most technically challenging piece to date.” Brian says, before adding it should actually be complete late in 2022 after a total of six months of work. Part of the time to build is taken up by how meticulously the men plan before starting. They look at hundreds of images of the animal they will be creating, diligently studying every aspect of its body in the same position as the final sculpture. “We look for a super dynamic pose, showing movement. We always hand draw the subject from several angles,” Ben says. “If you don’t know what it really looks like, you will never be able to create it dimensionally in free space. We look at bone structure and anatomy to ensure the final sculpture is believable, even to the folks that know all about it.” Brian adds that they use an AutoCAD computer program to ensure the relative proportions are perfect. They explain that sometimes walking away from what they are creating is the most productive thing they can do when working on monumental size art. “Sometimes working on a particular aspect for a long time, you can stop ‘seeing’ it,” Ben says. “You get good at knowing when to give up” Brian says laughing, “You’ll walk out the next morning and the problem is just staring right at you. For example, one eye may be way bigger than the other one. It’s really kind of amazing that not doing it can really save a lot of time when you are doing it.” They see the reworking of different parts as part of the process like layers in a painting. It is seldom perfect on the first try, but an ebb and flow occurs until the desired outcome is achieved. Understanding that it is all necessary, helps to maintain perspective, they say. “It’s just metal, you can cut it off and weld it back on” Ben explains. Despite their commitment to perfection in the art they create, Brian and Ben are not pretentious nor braggadocio about their art but are more like neighbors from down the road. They take the work seriously, but not themselves, and enjoy easy-going personalities and humility despite their remarkable creative abilities. “We have found people are looking for the custom, one-of-a-kind pieces of art we are creating,” Brian says.” It’s fun for us seeing people enjoying them. You can watch their faces just light up immediately, especially kids. It can be anything, made of anything, as long as its ridiculously big.” “Our art itself is different than what everyone else has and I think people appreciate that. If they are spending their money, they want it to be something that speaks to them personally and I think that’s what we are really hitting on here. We are not aware of anyone in the area filling the same creative niche,” Brian says. “We really enjoy working huge, and that is the type of art on which we hope to build our business. There is no interest on our part in making 500 souvenir coffee mugs.” “We are a couple of humble, regular guys who believe that the ‘everyday’ becomes the reward for finding your passion. We feel blessed to have the opportunity to help people see their own crazy visions realized. It’s an honest living, being creative!” If you are interested in learning more about Augusta Missouri Metal Arts, you can visit their website AugMOMA.com, reach them by email at Artist@AugMOMA.com, by snail mail at PO BOX 73, Augusta Missouri 63332, or by phone at 636-484-0002.