The Exhibition “The Art of the Blacksmith” was very successful and attracted many people looking at the wide range of examples of the Blacksmith. On the Sunday afternoon there were 4 Blacksmiths on the stand; Lucille Scott, Colleen du Pon, Alex Smith and Patrick Mannerings.
Colleen du Pon had a number of exhibits and visited with her family. Here is her daughter in front of the Fountain.
The real star of the Exhibition was the Fountain designed by Neil Stevens.
An art exhibition demonstrating the quality, variety and skill of the blacksmith.
The craft of the artist blacksmith is based on the ancient principles of hot forging iron and steel, working with a fire, a hammer and an anvil.
“The Art of the Blacksmith” is an art exhibition taking part at the Stansted Garden Show. It aims to demonstrate the variety and skill of the blacksmith by bringing together a few blacksmiths from a wide range of backgrounds who primarily use traditional techniques to produce art in metal.
I have been a blacksmith for 15 years, achieving a BA in Artist Blacksmithing. Here I learnt to evolve ideas from any source of inspiration and make those ideas in the forge.
I now run Chalk Pit Forge, where I have been since 2008, and make bespoke pieces to suit the client and the location. I take pride in getting the design right and making my work to such a quality that it will last at least 300 years.
Amberley Museum, Amberley, West Sussex, BN18 9LT
T 07793679788
W www.chalkpitforge.co.uk
Colleen du Pon is a transplanted Canadian now living in Bridport, West Dorset, England. Working as an Artist Blacksmith and Metal Sculptor, she loves the romantic, physical and elemental processes in blacksmithing and produces a wide range of work, from functional Homewares to Sculpture and Architectural work, blending forging by hand, hammer and anvil, with contemporary metalworking techniques to create works in mild steel. Natural growths and forms, organic and dynamic, and mythological symbolism are all suggested in her unique way of presenting figurative and abstract forms in steel. She earned a BA in Silversmithing and Metalwork at Camberwell
College of Arts in London. Upon graduation in 2002, she was awarded the Bruce Church Travel Scholarship and travelled extensively, working directly with nomadic Blacksmiths in India. Colleen’s fascination for aesthetics, the beauty of nature, flora and fauna, are reflected in her diverse range of work. Find out more at www.colleendupon.co.uk
The Hungry Otter Forge, Miles Cross Farm, Symondsbury, Dorset, DT6 6AE
T 07745 412623 / 01308 456025
W www.colleendupon.co.uk
I am excited by the idea of functional sculpture, the making of pieces with uses and a sculptural aesthetic. I make objects that can be interacted with, that invite people to touch them, to use them. I like the idea that the things I make have a life with people, that they are used and enjoyed.
I combine traditional forging methods with modern techniques and design to create forged steel pieces, often adding other materials, to create practical, visually interesting objects.
T 07903 788652
W www.jennycole.co.uk
One of the reasons I got into blacksmithing was to understand how people can manipulate such a seemingly unmovable material. Iron is a challenging thing to work and I’ve not found anything else that demands such total physical and mental concentration.
The history behind it’s use is so diverse and vastly undocumented there are almost infinite things to discover and manufacturing techniques to unravel.
There is such a wide variety of skills involved with working metal, I couldn’t ask for a better occupation.
Lucille Scott is an artist blacksmith creating hand forged metal items inspired by nature and her love for dance and music. For Lucille the appeal of working with iron lies in the traditional role of blacksmiths, the permanence of their work and passing on this tradition to all around her. Lucille enjoys working with local glass artists to produce collaborative pieces and has recently started experimenting with combining wet felting and ironwork.
199 Henderson Road, Portsmouth PO4 9JF
T 07880724699
W www.littleduckforge.co.uk
I am a traditionally trained blacksmith with a background in design and engineering. I use traditional processes combined with modern aesthetics to explore the relationship between finish, decoration and joints.
W https://beta.folksy.com/shops/fireinspired
Firebird forge is a metal workshop buried deep in one of the oldest estates in Sussex which specialises in hand forged, traditional blacksmithing.
When not completing private commissions, Mort the Blacksmith also teaches these ancient craft skills on a day by day basis, allowing both novice smiths and the general public to come and learn. Students have booked from across Europe and from as far as Australia to attend.
Mort specialises in hand forging organic forms into his ironwork and in composite pattern welded blades.
Neil was an Artist Blacksmith based at Tortington near Arundel. He enjoyed exhibiting his work at Stanstead Garden Show, and had a stand at the very first one and continued to do so until June 2000.
He worked with ferrous and non ferrous metals, forging, mixing, and colouring them to make very unique pieces which were always popular at the show.
He was a very talented young man who sadly lost his life in a freak accident in December 2000.
Some pieces of his work are on permanent display at the Fire and Iron Gallery in Leatherhead where I am sure they will inspire other young Blacksmiths.