Dave and I view our business as an extension of who we are, so it only makes sense that we extend our passion for sustainability to the work we do.  Cobalt Designworks contributes to the health and well-being of Mother Earth in a myriad of ways:

• Our heirloom-quality architectural metalworks will last for generations.
• Metal is one of the most recycled materials on earth.  Steel has the ability to be re-used or recycled repeatedly without degradation in quality.
• For color and protection we use a powder coat process which lacks the solvents and toxicity of many other paints.
• Our work commute is a 30-foot walk from home to studio (we love this!)
• We minimize our driving by combining errands and by walking or biking to nearby places.
• One of our main work vehicles is powered by bio-diesel & gets >35 mpg.
• Our annual waste from the fab shop fits in two 32-gallon pails.
• We have a rooftop hot water solar panel.
• We harvest rainwater from our roofs (275 gallon capacity)
• We buy as local as possible as much as possible. 
• We built our studio with many green features:
  • FSC-certified lumber (Forest Stewardship Council)
  • Open cell foam insulation
  • Hydronic radiant floor heating
  • Double-paned fiberglass windows
  • Reclaimed and modified solid wood doors
  • Deconstruction of the previous old garage and reuse of salvagable material; recycling of remainder
  • High efficiency lighting
  • Flyash concrete
  • No and low VOC paints
• Our cell phone service is with Credo Mobile, which donates to non-profits supporting environmental causes.
• Our VISA card is from Working Assets, which also donates to non-profits promoting a sustainable and just world.
• Jennifer is volunteer chairwoman of the Vancouver Watersheds Council, a non-profit dedicated to mobilizing the community to protect and enhance the natural environment of Vancouver watersheds.
• Plus all the seemingly small stuff that adds up: vigilant recycling, organic landscaping, using recycled paper & office products, double-sided printing, and more.

Cobalt Designworks, leading by example.

Here is a photo of my very first metal sculpture, Luna. I designed and created her back in 2001 when I took a welded sculpture class at Clark College just a few blocks away from our house. Luna is a statement of personal power; something I was just starting to regain on my journey to creative recovery.

Creative recovery? Huh?

Luna
Copyright 2001-2009 Jennifer Corio

I was taking a leave of absence from my high tech job at the time, and what I thought I needed most during the break was rest & relaxation. In retrospect what I really needed was a release of pent up creativity. I had spent the last 15+ years exercising my left brain; that analytical, logical part of myself; neglecting my more creative side. I took several art classes during my leave — glass, ceramics, jewelry making, when I finally landed in the welding lab at Clark College under the tutelage of Beth Heron and Patrick Gonzales. I fell in love! It was thrilling to wield a torch and work with heavy equipment I never imagined I had the guts to use. I loved the power of taking a rigid material like steel and transforming it into graceful forms.

When it was time to return to work I had a bit of a crisis of consciousness. Do I enter the rat race again or do I take the risk and try something new? Dave and I were newlyweds then and he fully supported, even encouraged me to pursue the artistic path. One thought particularly swayed me to take the leap: I didn’t know when it would be, 10 years, 5 years, one year from now, but I feared I’d look back at the opportunity I had but didn’t take and feel regret. And regret is one emotion I try to avoid like the plague!

So I took the leap and haven’t looked back (except perhaps to fondly remember a steady paycheck)!  Eight years later I feel like my creative recovery has transformed into a creative journey; a meandering path of adventure, mystery, trial & error, give & take, mind expansion, passion, vision…and so much more.

Stay tuned for stories of irony & good timing in Part II of the tale.

Dave and I play on our differences to create sculpture together.  We are yin and yang.  Dave is linear thinking; inspired by high craftsmanship, process, lines & angles and order.  I have a more free-flowing way of going about things.  I am inspired by my surroundings – the environment and the people around me, and their relationship to each other.  The union of Dave’s and my diverse ways, our preferences and skills results in an art-making process that is cohesive and fulfilling.  At its simplest, I design and Dave builds.  I am the artist, Dave the craftsman.  Our partnership is a dance of communication, collaboration, give and take (with careful attention not to step on each other’s toes!). 

Our sculptures distill elements of both the natural world and the human figure into graceful forms of movement and flow.  Sensual and feminine in nature, our sculptures take on a dance-like motion.  We work to create art that simply and beautifully captures a mood, a relationship or a gesture.

Each sculpture begins in two-dimension on my sketchpad.  My images come from the infinite and innately perfect designs that already exist in nature and in human life.  Instinctively I wonder how I can recreate these forms in metal.  This instinct evolves to intuition as I capture the essence of an image in my head and translate it into an evocative sketch.  I design with an eye toward simplicity of line and form, and use curves thoughtfully to add softness and femininity. 

That elusive third dimension comes alive in a cardboard model, or more often these days using 3d-rendering software.  We try to add dimension in intriguing ways that will captivate the viewer from every angle.  As Dave joins the process you can almost hear his gears spinning as he engineers the technical aspects of the sculpture – how to build it for strength, durability and ease of installation – all with the highest level of quality and craftsmanship.  He brings my designs to life by cutting, forming and welding sheet metal, whether bronze, stainless, mild steel or aluminum.  Culling from his years of experience customizing cars and building dragsters, he works adeptly with his hands and tools to tame the rigid medium into soft, graceful shapes.  It is in the studio working like this that I see the true passion of my husband; he is at his happiest and most peaceful, and I truly believe these qualities find their way into our sculptures. 

Depending on the mood we want to convey, we finish the forms with either vivid powder-coated colors or earthy patinas.  When our dance of collaboration is done, we hope to have a sculpture that suggests its own dance-like rhythm and invites viewers to follow its motion with their eyes, their hands, their imaginations.  Perhaps as well, they will feel a subtle sense of connection with the mood or rhythm that the sculpture has captured.

Artist Jennifer Corio and craftsman Dave Frei together create custom architectural and sculptural elements using a wide variety of metals and fabrication techniques.  Our portfolio includes distinctive gates, railings, doors and signs that provide our clients with a dual composition of art and function.  We also design and build sculptures for public and private collections.  We enjoy finding innovative and highly aesthetic ways to merge art and architecture to create visual and tactile experiences for people within the spaces that surround them.