The Copper Frog Orchestra grew out of a small business I, Orlando Morales, operated for 27 years on 9th Street in Durham, North Carolina. During those years, I partnered with sculptor Beau Smith of Charleston, South Carolina, whose handcrafted copper frogs became beloved by people everywhere they appeared. Over time, I began to realize that these frogs were more than sculptures. They created joy, conversation, connection, and even healing. The idea for the Copper Frog Orchestra grew naturally from those experiences.
Two stories especially capture the spirit and genesis of this project.
Years ago, I drove across the country to Los Angeles in an old Dodge van with my daughter, Asha, carrying only three or four copper frogs. My original plan was to set up outside a restaurant connected to Steven Spielberg, but when that possibility fell through, I ended up outside a pizza place instead. The owner suggested I try Malibu.
So I drove along the coast to Malibu and arrived near Pepperdine University, where there was a beautiful green lawn covered with signs that read: “Do Not Sit on the Lawn.” I took out my guitar, placed the frogs on display, and sat down anyway. I told myself that if security came, I would simply say I was waiting for a photographer from the school newspaper.
As I sat there, something unexpected happened. Cars began honking and waving. Then people started stopping to look at the frogs, talk with me, and take photographs. At one point, a tourist bus pulled over and twenty or thirty people climbed out just to gather around the frogs and enjoy the moment.
Then a woman carrying cameras around her neck approached me with a smile and introduced herself as a photographer for the Malibu Times, and said” have you been waiting for me?” She explained that she had driven by earlier, seen me and the frogs, and felt compelled to come back because she thought, “That person won’t be there again.”
The very next day, a large photograph of me and the frogs appeared in the Living Section of the Malibu Times. In that moment, I realized something important: these frogs naturally attract people. They are engaging, photogenic, and joyful. They create experiences and stories wherever they go.
The following day, I set up at a firefighters’ expo and sold all three frogs.
Another experience happened at a street fair in Nashville, Tennessee, where I was selling frogs with my friend Jack. Crowds gathered constantly around the display, smiling, laughing, and taking pictures. One sculpture Beau had created was especially memorable: a Forrest Gump frog sitting with a box of chocolates on its knee.
A teenage girl walked by, instantly understood the reference, and became so excited that she began jumping up and down, shouting, “It’s Forest Gump.”…calling her friends over. Soon four or five girls surrounded the frog, singing songs from the Forrest Gump movie and laughing together. The sculpture had sparked a spontaneous moment of shared joy.
Later that same day, the producer of the Country Music Awards stopped by the booth. He loved the frogs and invited me to his studio. I sold him three musical frogs, and later those frogs appeared as props during the Country Music Awards in a Travis Tritt performance.
Experiences like these planted the seeds for what would eventually become the Copper Frog Orchestra.
The vision now is to create a full orchestra of up to twenty life-sized copper frog musicians, complete with a conductor. These sculptures will be human-sized works of art, built to live outdoors and weather naturally over time.
The Copper Frog Orchestra will travel to botanical gardens, festivals, concerts, nonprofit fundraisers, and community events. More importantly, it will go where it can bring encouragement and healing. After disasters or during difficult times, the orchestra can become a gathering place for people to reconnect through art, humor, music, and community.
One example that inspired this mission was the devastation caused by the hurricane in Asheville, North Carolina. I imagined taking the frogs into communities affected by hardship — setting up the orchestra, inviting local musicians and neighbors together, and creating an uplifting public event where people could smile, gather, and heal for a while.
Because I am also a musician, these events will often include live performances alongside the sculpture installation. The frogs naturally invite interaction. People photograph them, laugh with them, pose beside them, and connect through them. They create a shared emotional experience.
The Copper Frog Orchestra will also grow through community participation during our Indiegogo campaign. Supporters at different donation levels will receive copper frogs of their own as rewards — from small “froglets” just a few inches tall, to larger sculptures one foot tall, and even major centerpiece frogs up to five feet tall for larger supporters.
The orchestra itself will grow as support grows. If funding reaches the minimum goal, a smaller orchestra will be built. If support exceeds expectations, the orchestra can expand into an even larger ensemble or eventually become multiple traveling orchestras.
This project is ultimately about more than sculpture. It is about creating moments of wonder, joy, music, and human connection.
We invite you to help bring the Copper Frog Orchestra to life.
Thanks for your attention.
Orlando Morales.