Ep 126 Jeffery Funk on Design, Forging Process and Tool Making

This week I’ve got Pete Mattila from Tasmania, which is off the southern coast of Australia. We talk about his shop by the water’s edge, his US apprentice journey, and his design process.  Before we get to the interview I wanted to mention today’s sponsors, First we have the Adirondack Folk School.  It’s a non-profit school located in Lake Luzerne, in upstate New York.  The blacksmithing program at the Folk School includes 24 classes with an incredible line of blacksmithing instructors this year. To see the complete list of classes or to register, visit their website: www.adirondackfolkschool.org. I’d also like to thank the New England Blacksmiths, the ABANA affiliate serving Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island. Who by the way will be driving the ABANA 2020 Conference in Saratoga, NY Check us out at  http://www.newenglandblacksmiths.org/ Also They will be offering the Age of Iron weekend event at the Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, It’s happening the 1st weekend in August, 3rd and 4th. Those interested in further details can contact Cindy Dickinson at [email protected]  or DM @HayBudden on Twitter or Instagram. If you mention I’m here for the blacksmithing you’ll get an extra $5 off at the door! Thanks NEB! OK, let’s dive right into this interview with Pete. What We Talked About Pete first went to a technical college for welding, then he got a job as an apprentice was with an industrial blacksmith at the Ipswitch railyards in Queensland, Australia. There he forged a lot of industrial tools for mines, alloy steel forging. Pete decided to go to art school and received his Bachelor of Fine art. He then received a scholarship for his master’s in fine art. Pete talks about his apprentice journey through the United States, which included working with Albert Paley, Mountain Forge and included a research residency at the Metal Museum. We talk about his design process which he includes 3 basic things: additive process, subtractive process and material displacement. When Pete works with clients for commissioned pieces, one of the things he asks for is 3 words from the client that encapsulates what they envision. About 80% of the time Pete sandblasts his sculptures first and then adds a chemical called Black Fast. Also follows up with beeswax. One of Pete’s goals this year is to convert his gas forge into a veggie oil burning forge. Guest Links Website - https://www.petemattila.com/ Instagram is @pete_mattila_

Hello welcome to episode 127 I am continuing my series of 12 podcast interviews (one a month) focusing on Design Process, Forging Process and Tool Making. Today I have Maegan Crowley from Colorado, she started her metal business in 2006 after attaining her Master of Fine Art from Cranbrook Academy. I’d also like to thank today’s sponsor, Even Heat, they manufacture the finest heat treat ovens available, Even Heat Kiln was founded in 1948 and has steadily grown to become a major kiln manufacturer.  Find your next heat treat oven at evenheat-kiln.com.   Maegan's website - www.ironmaeganmetalworks.com 

Hello welcome to episode 126, as I mentioned before in the last episode, I’ve decided to do a series of 12 podcast interviews (one a month) focusing on the guest's Design Process, Forging Process and Tool Making. We begin with Jeffery Funk who has been working iron, bronze, stainless steel, and other metals for over forty years in a small shop outside of Bigfork, Montana.  In our correspondence leading up to the interview, Jeffery said  “Blacksmithing can be a portal to so many fascinating realms, far beyond the iron itself.”  And that is the essence of how our interview went, I’m grateful to have Jeffery on the show to share his wisdom in so many realms and the same gratitude goes, of course, to those of you who continue to listen, thank you. I’d also like to thank today’s sponsor, Even Heat, they manufacture the finest heat treat ovens available, Even Heat Kiln was founded in 1948 and has steadily grown to become a major kiln manufacturer.  Find your next heat treat oven at evenheat-kiln.com. Jeffery Funk's Website - http://jeffreyfunkmetalworker.com/  The New Agrarian School - http://www.newagrarianschool.org/ 

Hello Happy New Year, welcome to 2019 and episode 125!  I've decided on a different format for this year's podcast. I sat down recently and came up with 3 main topics and questions within each topic. I will ask the next 10 or so guests the same questions and hopefully dive deep into their Design Process, Forging Process and Tool Making.  Those are the 3 topics I’ll be asking my guests for the bulk of this year’s podcasts. This podcast is sponsored by Evenheat, they manufacture the finest heat treat ovens available, Even Heat Kiln was founded in 1948 and has steadily grown to become a major kiln manufacturer.  Find your next heat treat oven at evenheat-kiln.com.  

This week I’ve got Ambrose Burne, a very talented artist blacksmith living in Hereford, England.  He attended the Artist Blacksmith program at the Hereford College of the Arts and then opened his own forge and is a lecturer on the BA (Hons) Artist Blacksmithing program for Hereford.  Today we talk about his background a bit and about the 150mm Challenge he has started.  BTW Hereford College of the Arts is asking for submissions from anyone willing to take on the challenge.  The exhibition submissions need to be sent to Hereford for 1st March: Measured Making Exhibition c/o Delyth Done Hereford College of Arts College Road Hereford HR1 1EB, United Kingdom Please include your full address. Hereford College of the Arts will be posting more details on their Instagram page @herefordanvils. I wanted to let you know this podcast is sponsored by Evenheat, they manufacture the finest heat treat ovens available, Even Heat Kiln was founded in 1948 and has steadily grown to become a major kiln manufacturer.  I know Patrick Quinn at the Center for Metal arts has one and is happy with it, so find your next heat treat oven at evenheat-kiln.com. Guest Links Website - http://www.ambroseburne.co.uk/ Hereford College of the Arts website Instagram for Hereford: @herefordanvils, @herefordarts Instagram is @ambroseburne

This week I’ve got Michael Budd back on the show, he’s a very talented artist blacksmith from Sligo Ireland. We talk about his trip to Tomsk Russia this past summer, where he was invited to demonstrate at a festival called “The Festival of the Ax”.  What We Talked About He attended a festival, the Festival of the Ax, as a demonstrator in Tomsk Russia, so he tells us about the festival and how he got invited. There were artists from over 100 different countries and 15 blacksmiths We really go deep into introducing the craft of blacksmithing to college students and how the use of past publications could be more available in college libraries. We touch on the “crowdfunding” idea for blacksmith conferences  We talk about how hard it is to be an artist and to make a living at the same time.   Guest Links Website - https://www.annarkoplik.com/ Instagram @michaeljbudd

This is the monthly Blacksmith Buzz Bulletin.  Where you get the low-down about upcoming classes and events that are happening in the following month, I’ll be telling you about classes and events happening in November 2018.  If you have an event or class you would like to submit, send an email to [email protected] and I will send you the details I need for the press release.    

This week I’ve got Anna Koplik, a young blacksmith who is currently completing an artist residency at the Touchstone Center for Crafts in Farmington, Pennsylvania.  She talks about her BFA in Jewelry and how she became interested in weaponry during college, which ended up being her intro to blacksmithing. Before we get to the interview I wanted to mention today’s sponsor is again provided on behalf of the New England Blacksmiths, an ABANA affiliate serving Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Rhode Island. And also will be driving the ABANA 2020 Conference in Saratoga, NY They’ve got a great website, check it out at  http://www.newenglandblacksmiths.org/ What We Talked About Anna is currently finishing an artist residency at the Touchstone center for crafts, during this 4-week residency she has been working on making tools for herself. In exchange for Anna being able to use the school’s resources to make her tools during her residency, she helps out around the school, cleaning and assisting in other classes. The school’s blacksmith shop has 12 student coal forging stations, an instructor coal forge, each with an anvil and post vise, a room full of tongs and hammers, 2 power hammers and gas forges. In years past Anna has worked at the school as a studio technician and was able to assist some top-rated instructors that have taught there such as Tom Latane and Mark Aspery. She has a BFA from Pratt Institute, she focused on jewelry and also became interested in weaponry. This interest led her to take a bladesmithing class at the Peter’s Valley School of Craft, this opened up the world of blacksmithing to her. Anna ended up taking an assistant position in the blacksmith shop at Peters Valley for a summer and this helped her grow her skills at the forge. Another stepping stone for Anna was her winter apprenticeship with Atlas Forge where they focused on production blacksmithing.   Guest Links Website - https://www.annarkoplik.com/ Instagram is @arkoplik

This is the monthly Blacksmith Buzz Bulletin.  Where you get the low-down about upcoming classes and events that are happening in the following month, I’ll be telling you about classes and events happening in October 2018.  If you have an event or class you would like to submit, send an email to [email protected] and I will send you the details I need for the press release. OK, I’ll go in Alphabetic order here:

This is the monthly Blacksmith Buzz Bulletin.  Where you get the low-down about upcoming classes and events that are happening in the following month, I’ll be telling you about classes and events happening in September 2018.    If you have an event or class you would like to submit, send an email to [email protected] and I will send you the details I need for the press release.