Jorge Monares Araya

Coppersmith

©Jorge Monares

The copper reconquest

Jorge developed his own copper forging techniques
He visited Santa Clara del Cobre, Mexico in 2013 to exchange forging techniques
He specialises in the making of historical vessels with a modern elegance

Chile is one of the world’s largest copper producers and yet its copper work is practically unknown. "The reason behind such irony," explains Jorge Monares Araya, "is the lack of craft schools in the country, specialised in preserving and transmitting forging techniques that were lost along generations since colonial times." Jorge’s father was one of those few crafting with copper, chiselling folklore jewellery and relief art as tourist souvenirs. Jorge joined his father’s workshop as a teenager in 1976 and years later he started exploring a self-taught forging technique. "My knowledge about forging was limited at the time and there were no craft schools in Chile teaching such techniques." This process of discovery took Jorge down a different, more creative, path which challenged his craftsmanship talent to make him the only Chilean artisan able to reproduce handmade, colonial-period copper cookware and decorative pieces today.

Interview

©Jorge Monares

©Jorge Monares

How were you drawn to create your own forging technique?: The National History Museum in Santiago commissioned me to reproduce copper pieces from the colonial period. I declined the museum’s request, thinking it was impossible to recreate the ancient techniques. But I was curious to deconstruct original pieces and found my own technique by subjecting the copper to very high temperatures to release the tensions in the metal, and then forging, folding, chiselling and hammering when cold to achieve an almost exact version. It was a 13-year process of trial and error.
How does your technique differ from a traditional forging process?: My process begins with a laminated copper sheet of 1-1.25 mm thick which I shape with different hammers after having heated the copper to high temperatures, making it optimal for work. Once cold, I begin to fold and give it form. The risk of fissure is high if it is not worked carefully. It was on a knowledge exchange trip to Santa Clara del Cobre, Mexico, that I discovered I had found a new technique, different from the one the Jesuits brought to America during colonial times.
What are the steps in your creative process?: Today I believe there is nothing impossible if there is an in-depth study of the materials. I work with a design in my mind and the great challenge is having the proper malleability of the copper in order to prevent fissures of any kind. I use a sketchbook to take note of my work and process.
Do you think it is possible to prevent this craft from disappearing?: There must be institutional leadership to create more craft schools around the country able to transmit and preserve this knowledge. Artesanías de Chile made an initial attempt when they asked me to recreate a whole colonial copper kitchen in 2020 for exhibition, but they sold each piece separately and the set was dismantled. There should be one left for a museum.

Jorge Monares Araya is a master artisan: he began his career in 1976 and he started teaching in 2001