This bronze Windbell sold at our Beehive was handmade in Arizona at the studios of the Cosanti Foundation, which has produced them for over 65 years, beginning in 1955. The first ‘Cosanti Originals’ windchime bells were made from local Arizona clay, the bronze versions came later. The cast bronze windbells come in two finishes – polished, or patinaed like this one. Green and brown verdigris patinas develop naturally on the surface of copper, brass or bronze metal over time as it oxidizes in humid air, just as rust forms on oxidizing steel or iron, but in the dry desert air of Arizona, the patinaed Cosanti Windbells need a light acid-bath to get the process started. The work of many individual artisans over many decades, there are now hundreds of Windbells in existence and each one is unique. Still in production, Windbells are available through the Cosanti Foundation website along with additional lengths of handcrafted chain or wall brackets.
The Windbells are just the tip of a much larger iceberg: the Cosanti Foundation and the Arcosanti intentional city of the future, lifelong work of visionary, Award-winning Italian-American architect Paolo Soleri. The windbells represent both a successful extension of his artistic vision and an ongoing fundraiser for his foundation.
The Cosanti Foundation’s mission is to encourage sustainability through experimental architecture and agriculture and their sprawling settlement complex in Paradise Valley, AZ, is known world-wide to connoisseurs of architectural innovation and alternative living. Arcosanti is essentially an artists’ colony that supplies much of its own food, grown both by residents and the scores of volunteers who come each year to learn. Over 8000 volunteers built the great majority of the experimental architectural structures at both Cosanti and Arcosanti.
People have been living and working on the site since 1959, three years after Paolo and his wife Colly first bought the land in Paradise Valley. In 1970 construction began on the ‘city’ of Arcosanti, originally planned to house 1,500 people. Soleri coined the term “Arcology” to describe his designs for ecologically sound human habitats and Arcosanti derives its name from those ideas. During 1975–1977 the master plan for Arcosanti was overhauled to include alternative energy sources after the Xerox Corporation sponsored a Soleri exhibition featuring designs for sustainable urban habitats using alternative energy. Arcosanti’s projected final population was then raised to 5,000. But as is often the case with vast, sweeping revolutionary visions, progress was slower than desired and the self-supporting city of 5,000 has yet to come to fruition. Today Arcosanti only houses from 50 to 150 residents, and only employees of the Foundation are eligible for permanent residency.
Paolo Soleri celebrated his 90th birthday in 2009 with a mass reunion of hundreds of the artisans and volunteers who had worked at Arcosanti and the Cosanti Foundation over the years. The festivities included a bell-carving workshop and a bronze pour in the Foundry.
While Paolo Soleri passed away in 2013, construction of his Utopian city is still ongoing, albeit at a much slower pace. But, the architecturally striking facilities include a visitor’s center, a public cafe, gardens and overnight guest rooms and the foundation offers many workshops and volunteer opportunities, so the site still bustles with activity. 50,000 people visit every year to experience Soleri’s unique vision and enjoy the famous, musical Windbells in the desert breeze.
Tuesday Treasures was started by our staff member, Jeanne Lusignan. Each week she will be featuring items that have been found at our estate sales. If you would like to submit a treasure for Jeanne to feature in a future installment of “Tuesday’s Treasures”, please follow the button below and send us an email! Please attach a few photos of your treasure in a beautiful setting as well as any details you have about your item such as manufacturer, use, age, region of origin. If you don’t know about the piece, that’s okay! We still might be able to research it for you! Don’t forget to tell us what makes this item such a treasure to you!