feather, and the third thing was a rooster. Once I saw the layering of the feathers and the texture, I knew we had something.” That was nine years ago, and through their artwork, Brad and Sundie have helped Gree- ley Hat Works become a nearly zero-waste busi - ness. “We were look- ing for something move on from the found object art- work we were do- ing,” Sundie said. “We’ve always worked as a team, and I was hesitant about the felt at different and were ready to first, but Brad was the one who had a vision and want- ed to bring the material home
menting with dying the felt. It took two years, but they finally found a process that worked, and this unlocked a new world of possibility. Today, their work ranges from ab- stract objects to very detailed animals and wall art to sculpture. In more re- cent years, Brad and Sundie happened upon some new uses for their work. Artists often challenge themselves to evolve and test the limits of their cho- sen mediums, but sometimes it’s the suggestion of a collector that opens the door to a realm of new possibilities. That was the case with Laura Jaki- movich and Pierre Tariot. The couple was on the hunt for something to help with the acoustics in their home, as all of the hard surfaces had created sig- nificant echoing. One look at Brad and Sundie’s sculptural felt, and they knew they had found their solution. “When they asked us about it being used for sound dampening, I felt like a cartoon character with a lightbulb going off over my head,” Sundie said. “So, our works can be used in homes or public spaces to change the acous- tics of a space and create intimacy in cavernous rooms.” In addition to the sound dampen- ing, they discovered yet another use, through a collector, that had more to do with the tactile nature of their work. “We’ve always thought about the From form to form and function tactile qualities of our work, and there are a number of values to it, but we’ve spoken with collectors and friends about how loved ones with autism or those who are vision-impaired enjoy interacting with our pieces,” Sundie said. “One mother who has a non-ver- bal son told us she has noticed her son no longer uses the noise-canceling headphones in their home. And this is something I’d like to explore further. I just know there is something more to happen with this.” In exploring this unconventional medium, the Rupperts have unlocked layers of meaning and purpose. From developing new artistic techniques for felt remnants to uncovering practical and therapeutic applications for their pieces, and even helping a century-old hat shop create a nearly zero-waste business, Sundie and Brad have gained so much by working with the once-dis- carded felt scraps.
FROM THE ARTIST STUDIO: A CONVERSATION WITH BRAD & SUNDIE RUPPERT
F or decades, Sundie and Brad Rup- pert had been finding creative uses for found objects. And had become known for their artful renditions of signage made almost entirely of repur- posed items. But a fortuitous commis- sion for indoor and outdoor signage for a cowboy hat store completely changed the trajectory of their career. “A client’s commission for a new store sign led us down the trail to cus- tom, hand-carved signage, and one of those signs opened the front door of Greeley Hat Works,” Sundie said. “While we were installing the Greeley sign, we asked owner/master hatter Trent John- son about how hats were made.” Trent took them on a behind-the- scenes tour. They got to see how the hats were made and also discovered the process left behind beautiful scraps of felt. And it was then a lightbulb went off in Brad’s head. “When Brad first asked Trent about what happens to the scrap felt, I thought, ‘What in the world are you thinking of?’,” Sundie said. A question most would’ve asked. Af- ter all, the scrap in question was noth- ing more than thin felt rings cut from the brim of the cowboy hats. Still, these were headed for the trash bin and Brad
couldn’t help but imagine a possible use for them. From dot-com to a vintage turkey Brad and Sundie’s path has been anything but conventional. The duo met in college while studying graphic design. After college, they found their way to corporate America where they worked as graphic designers and remained until the dot-com bubble burst in the early 2000s. At that point, they decided to go freelance, designing and composing magazines and books. All the while, they were creating art on the side and selling their work at various art shows on the weekend. Initially, the couple had planned to pursue art full time after they retired, but in 2008, as their graphic design business wound down, they decided to move every- thing forward. “We stumbled into art through our son’s second-grade family art project,” Sundie said. “We crafted a turkey from vintage ceiling tins, an oil can head, and watch-face eyes. When our son turned it in, the phone began to ring and we took five orders. Suddenly, we found ourselves on a new path.”
"Mick Jaguar" by Brad & Sundie Ruppert
That serendipitous class assignment eventually evolved into a more than two-decade-long career as found-ob- ject sculptors. Brad and Sundie began traveling across the country in search of novel objects they could reimagine into new works of art. “We began to see everything for what it could be, rather than what it was,” Sundie said. “A concrete trowel became a face. Golf clubs were horse
heads. Some were old trinkets scav- enged from roadsides, others were treasures found in nature.” As their business grew, they began to find success in the Western industry, creating horses, bison and cowboys from their collection of objects. That led them to custom sign creation and eventually to the doorstep of Greeley Hat Works.
and see what he could come up with.” The couple has fallen in love with this unconventional medium for its texture, flexibility, versatility, and even its sus - tainability. And over the years, they’ve been able to expand how they’re using it. “We began to see everything for what it could be, rather than what it was." In the beginning, their color palette was relatively limited to neutral colors that made up a bulk of the hats being made at that time. Wanting to expand the palette and create colorful works on a larger scale, they began experi -
From hat brims to sculptural wall art Brad was determined to figure out a use for the scraps of felt rings. So with a bag full of felt in hand, he went home and began testing con- cepts. What eventu- ally emerged was a process for trimming the felt into even smaller pieces and meticulously layer- ing them over one another with nails to create intricate pat- terns and shapes. “I started with a primitive crow,” Brad said. “The second thing I made was a
Watch the Ruppert's interview here.
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Issue 4 | Spring 2023
Issue 4 | Spring 2023
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