April Bower has always been fascinated by all the varied processes involved in metalworking. After receiving a Bachelors of Fine Arts Degree, she taught metalsmithing for Parks & Rec, and then she spent 18+ years doing bench work in fine jewelry stores in Arizona. Her focus has spanned from fine jewelry to copper fountain sculptures. Using those same chemicals used to color the fountain parts, she developed “Patina Painting” on thin copper sheets, originally salvaged from industry leftovers, supported by wood backings.
“Copper is an interesting metal, offering a huge range in colorations”. April, who is also a watercolorist, thinks painting with chemicals on copper is a lot like watercolor; “you never know exactly how it will turn out. It’s the results, and what you do with it that makes it interesting. It’s a balance between you controlling it…and it controlling you”
As Artists like to work in many mediums Bower also creates with watercolor and chalk pastel and teaches at Art Retreats and Studios throughout the US.
Living and working outside a metropolitan area is a luxury chosen by April, her husband and their resident cat. The small mountain town of Pine Arizona serves as summer home and studio for their varied artistic careers, and the high desert of central Arizona, the winter.
