penny vessels by stacey lee webber and justin rothshank

justin rothshank + stacey lee webber penny jars and vessels
all images courtesy of stacey lee webber

a mutual love for abraham lincoln spurred the creative collaboration between american artist stacey lee webber and ceramicist justin rothshank on a series of eight handcrafted vessels. wheel thrown jars with shining, patterned images of lincoln’s face in copper luster have been crafted by rothshank, made of earthenware clay and varnished with layers of glossy white and black glaze. the rounded volumes were then shipped to webber, who thematically ties in the president’s appearance on US currency in the creation of each container’s lid. pennies are hand-cut, soldered, fabricated, and patinated to form a complex, layered pattern, leaving no two lids alike. doughnut-shaped coin manipulations and molten sheets of interwoven copper pieces clad each covering, all completely bespoke in texture, size and pattern. the pieces will be shown in the 2014 american craft council show in baltimore, MD and the 2014 smithsonian craft show.

the penny vessel, with a glazed ceramic jar and currency-clad lid

close-up view of the coins used for the cap of the volume

ceramic and coin come together in the creation of the jars

a love for abraham lincoln informed the creative collaboration

doughnut-shaped penny manipulations

an abraham lincoln motif is repeated throughout the ceramic façade

a detail of the penny-clad lid

fabricated based on the fluid wreathing of a basket , the ‘woven penny bowl’ is made entirely from melted down pieces of the copper currency. fluently looping in layers of metallic strips, the object’s curves allow for an aesthetically sensual perception, yet its materials maintain a sense of rigidity and structure.

‘woven penny bowl’

a detail of the melted down pennies used to create the woven penny bowl

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