Esther Barr

After more than 20 years as a special effects animator for film and TV, Esther Barr started working in metal. For nearly two decades now, rather than evolve a design as she once would in animation, she distills the essence of movement into a single frame of copper.

Barr works with a thin copper sheet using various printmaking techniques traditionally meant for paper. She is always experimenting with new techniques and will use any tool that serves her purpose. Varied textures and relief are built up by moving differing elements on the press bed, as if it was animation, and pulling them through an etching press multiple times, reflecting the concept of multiple exposures. The copper is then finished with patina, torch-fused enamel, or color oxides.

Barr’s creations can be found online at Esther Barr Metalworks.

estherbarr.com