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About
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I co-founded the Artist Blacksmith Group of Tidewater (ABGT) in 2010. I have belonged to Tidewater Blacksmith's Guild (TBG) since October 1999, Blacksmith Guild of Virginia since 2006 and Artist Blacksmith Association of North America since 2004. I served as TBG's Secretary from 2005 to 2007 and TBG's Newsletter Editor from 2007 to 2010.
I participate in Artist Blacksmith Group of Tidewater's and TBG's demonstrations at many regional events and enjoy the company of fellow blacksmiths and enthusiasts. These events are an awful lot of fun as we get to work with other smiths and interested individuals with whom we would not otherwise get the chance to meet.
I became interested in Blacksmithing because of my work for the Colonial National Historical Park at Yorktown, VA. I started in 1999 building 18th Century (American Revolution era) reproduction Cannon Carriages. The entire experience of taking hot metal out of the forge and hammering it into shape at the anvil quickly became more than just something I had to do for work, but a passion, there is just something about doing the very same thing that a Smith did 100, 300 or even 1000 years ago. There are modern power hammers and other tools that allow for more rapid production, but there is nothing that compares with creating something entirely at the anvil with your hammer. Blacksmith, Wheelwright and Timber Framer are the crafts necessary to make cannon carriages. It took a few years to decipher the nuances of old English and French mannerisms and apply them to the construction of a cannon carriage, but I was successful and am able to do so for CNHP. Here, at Happy Haven Forge, I do not make cannon carriages but employ those skills to make unique and one of a kind items for someone to enjoy.
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I am fortunate to have had Colonial Williamsburg blacksmiths; Peter Ross, Kenneth Schwartz and Sheldon Browder, and Master Wheelwright Ron Vineyard, close by to ask questions when problems have risen. Their willingness to share information was most welcomed and has served as my guide to being a good steward of the Blacksmith Craft. When I was starting out, I didn't even know what questions to ask in order for the Smiths to provide me with the answers I needed to perform my work. Luckily, they provided answers to my unasked questions and ones that I didn’t even realize I needed to ask. Since then I have had courses of instruction by Don Witzler, Charlie Orlando, Julie Clark and Greg Price at the John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC. I'm glad to have been fortunate enought to have observed and continue to observe truly gifted smiths perform; Clay Spencer, Joe Miller, Nathan Walker, Jymm Hoffman and Joe Scott, to name a few. It is a culmination of those who have provided me formal training, others that have shown me a technique here and there, and yet others still through demonstrations at events that have provided an idea or an answer, sometimes without even knowing it. In addition to those already mentioned, there are many that will go unnamed for the usual host of reasons. My quest for knowledge continues and so does the list of Smiths who are influencing me.
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Blacksmithing allows me immediate gratification with each blow of the hammer. There is something special about being able to make steel do what you want it to. The fact that you can add, subtract and change it from rough to elegant, sharp to soft edged, give a heavy object a lightness that would otherwise not be possible, reminds me that a simple thing can be complex and a complex thing simple. The satisfaction of figuring out how to make a complex pattern work is a great feeling at the end of the day. It is a wonderful medium for artistic expression. I hope that you enjoy my website and visit often for updates.
"Antic, serious and silent"[1] the creative process coupled with these skills, I hope to match what the mind's eye envisions creating a one of a kind item for someone to enjoy.
[1] Jerome Bruner: On knowing: Essays for the Left Hand, 1965
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