Oh dear. I think I am falling in love. With more heat!
If you are a reader of this blog, you will remember how inspired I was by what I saw at SOFA in Chicago (you can read up on it here). Part of what happened there was that I connected with other artists, including the work of blacksmith Brad Hall. This inspired me to revisit an interest in blacksmithing that had flared up previously.
In 2008, on seeing my exhibition Selective Intuition at the Mary E. Black Gallery, artist blacksmith John Little -perhaps jokingly- exclaimed “You should come and forge with me!” What a fantastic invitation. Then, on the trip to SOFA, I was able to exchange portfolios with Brad Hall, and I was very much drawn to the way in which he can move metal, the methods of his craft. Being very much drawn to the work of these two excellent artist blacksmiths, I am currently trying to figure out how to arrange some mentoring with each of them. I love to move metal. Even though I mostly work in body adornment, I often apply techniques that recall blacksmithing. Metal is moved in both trades, but by means of different methods, and on different scales. Working on a larger scale, and quickly (iron is only workable while glowing hot), using non-precious materials, will allow me to not be as concerned about the result, but rather stay with the moment of making itself. This will help tremendously to free my own creativity and allow me to make discoveries along the way and find new language. I am totally pumped about this possibility. However, I must be patient.
In the meantime, because I had started the inquiries with the blacksmiths, John Little invited me to come observe as he undertook a big forging last Friday. But first, let me briefly introduce John:
Renowned blacksmith John Little has been forging in East Dover, Nova Scotia, for over 40 years. His work is found in local, national, and international, private and public collections. As is stated on his website (which you should, most definitely, check out), “His commitment to exploration of form, technique, and innovation has consistently led him in new and exciting directions “. So true!
John is working on a very large sculpture for the Prospect Community Centre. For this, he needed to make the last piece, which involved forging 18″ lengths of 2″ X 4″ steel. This is a huge piece of steel to be forging! So I went out to his studio to observe for several hours on Friday. And I brought you this photo journal:
Suffice it to say: I can’t wait to try and move some (much smaller!!) glowing hot metal myself soon.
I think I may have fallen in love ….
