I’m pleased to have been asked to design and build a sculpture and lead the international team to build it at International Forging 2020 in Argentina.  Taking place in the city of Buenos Aires, fellow blacksmiths and I will share the skills of restoration and preservation.

We will have blacksmiths/teachers in our group from US, Canada, Russia, Spain, Chile, and Ukraine—this has has become a true international conference. Our goal is to share our knowledge freely, and everyone is welcome.​

According to Jerry Coe, a Berkeley, CA-based blacksmith and organizer of the event, “During the past two events in Buenos Aires, we have trained 150 blacksmiths and awakened the trade skills that have been lost in the area. This has brought the attention of Argentina’s national education program and gained recognition from the Ministry of Culture about preservation and restoration of Buenos Aires historic architecture and national museums. We have gained support from Buenos Aires’ US Embassy.

In preparation for the 2020 event, we are organizing into teams to approach the teaching of our craft in a thorough manner. We expect 200 students to attend. Many of the students will be professionals and have small businesses of their own. 
 Along with classes in tool making and traditional artistic smithing, we will have a class discussing design, bidding, and presentation and the class will delve into determining economic rent/shop overhead. We will also have a forum to discuss ecological approaches to blacksmithing and creating sustainable environmentally friendly products."  

This event began in 2016 and has occurred every 2 years since that time. 

Forjadores Argentinos is a group that was formed after the inaugural event in 2016.  This Facebook group serves to keep the Argentinians connected and to share projects, meeting announcements, and foster connectivity and collaboration.  

Elegantly simple design.  No wonder I made two of them!… 

This steel tripod base and stone top brings a fresh look to its surroundings — whether that be a guest room or an office sitting area.  Sturdy, stable, AND good looking — If only we could all be that way… 

I used 3" x 1" tubing for the steel legs, and the stone is  1.25" thick.   ​

These round side tables measure about 19” tall, with a diameter of 20”. 

Stained glass in jewel tones was custom-slumped as diffusers in this front porch light. 

To begin, 3/8” steel plate was bent to convex on a fly press, then the edges were upset to give depth to the steel. 

Before slumping the stained glass diffusers, molds/forms of the openings needed to be made.  The stained glass was then slumped into these forms, allowing for a proper glass-to-steel fit on the steel plate. 

​With minimal points of attachment at the wall, this fixture seemingly ‘floats’ off the wall. ​

Front porch light with slumped glass measures 22” tall x 9” x 6” deep.  

The forged elements topping this fabricated gate make an affordable yet custom touch at this beach house. 

​The central forged element references a whale’s tail in a subtle nod to the house’s seaside locale. ​

Whale Tail gate measures 48” tall x 32” wide x 2” deep. 

Azul, the rooftop pool bar at the Westin Austin Downtown, offers a 20th-floor view of the Austin skyline facing Lady Bird Lake.

Now incorporated into that view is a sleek steel-and-granite table which I’m pleased to have designed and installed.

Tom, my client, wanted a metal and glass coffee table.  

We discussed shapes, dimensions, glass thickness, and overall look.  

I showed my sketches to several members of a local artist-blacksmith group, including Dana Flanders.  Based upon valuable feedback, I refined the bracing and connections for stability.

Collaboration was an essential component in this project.  Admittedly, I’d designed a complex piece incorporating traditional joinery (rivets and tenons) and multiple curves.​