Recent Ore Archive and Store

2017 - 2021

Electro-formed copper, stainless steel earrings.

For four years I grew and sold these little wearable sculptures. The project retired and all “Ores” grown during its duration have sold. Further information about the process along with archives of every piece grown can be found below.

About the project, the process, and the product:

Copper is a common industrial material and a raw, of the earth substance. It is naturally anti-bacterial and non-toxic. I began “re-naturalizing” industrial copper to remind myself that technological stuff comes from earthly stuff and that both the process and the association can always be reversed.

Recent Ores are electro-formed copper earrings and wearables that were grown in my old Bed-Stuy studio window from 2019-2021. Each Ore got its copper molecules from reclaimed copper plumbing pipes, etching plates, or a used thing of some other kind. The molecules are “grown” atop surgical stainless steel earrings by passing an electrical current into the reclaimed copper, through an erosive solution, and onto the stainless steel. As copper molecules erode from the reclaimed pieces they are carried by the electricity to pile up in a physical trace of its current. In this way, when you wear a Recent Ore you are wearing the shape of electricity itself. Between the unique elemental make up of each reclaimed copper piece, the chemical inconsistency in each jar, and the discrepancy between current and voltage ratio, each Recent Ore is a totally unique specimen.

What to note in selection and maintenance:

Ores that have more articulated tendrils should be worn with more care as they are more fragile than those with smoother, bulkier forms. Smooth Ores can be worn on a daily basis and throughout any activity. Unless noted otherwise, each Ore is unfinished and will continue to patina over time. This means that your Ore will probably change in color and luster as you expose it to the elements. To return your Ore to its original luster, which is almost always a bright sparkling orange or umber, soak it in salt+vinegar for a few seconds. If you have chosen an Ore with complex and nuanced color variation then soaking it in salt+vinegar will result in an unpredictable finish because it is a product of its reclaimed source’s mysterious elemental make up. If at anytime your Ore has lost all of its tendrils or has developed a patina you are unhappy with, reach out, send it back, and I will regrow onto what ever state it is in free of charge. However, as I constantly experiment and garden the system I have no intention for a perfectly controlled result. If you send yours back, expect a new character returned.

The process is very slow and each Ore can take between two weeks and three months to grow. Even though the project is retired for now I will probably make more eventually. When I do I will release a new batch in unpredictable quantity and at an unscheduled time. Follow @recent_ore to be the first to know when a new batch is available.