February 24, 1999
Folly at the Forge: Homage to the art
By Garret Leiva
Herald staff writer
Creating with the chaos of fire, reshaping the will of steel, pounding out rose petals with a hammer -its all just a typical weekend in the shop for Dan Nickels.
This past weekend, however, the East Bay Township blacksmith had a little less elbow room to swing his hammer as nearly 80 fellow smiths donned their safety glasses and coveralls and joined Nickels in celebrating the fifth annual "Folly at the Forge."
Held at Nickels' Black Rock Forge near Rennie Lake, the three-day event pays homage to an old world craft that has shaped civilization for the past 5,000 years. It is also about having fun, like the Burma Shave-style signs lining Nickels' driveway that proclaim: "New Things to Learn; More Metal to Burn."
For Nickels, who started smithing 15 years ago, the annual event provides not only a place to shape steel, but minds as well.
"When I first got started there was no place you could go to learn blacksmithing and I was so hungry for all the knowledge and techniques," said Nickels, who finally quelled his appetite with a class at the John Campbell Folk School in North Carolina.
"There are some people here that have never hammered before and they are going home with something they've made."
To create a hands-on learning environment, this year Nickels arranged for demonstrations both on the business end of a ball peen hammer and what it takes to run a small business. Presenters included Sheila Dorsay, an instructor at Saginaw Career Counseling, who spoke on business planning; Darrell Markewitz, a blacksmith who has worked as an artisan/interpreter at a number of living history museums in Canada; and Don Witzler, an instructor at the John Campbell Folk School, who presented silver forging and smithing in ferrous metals.
Whether it is precision work with precious metals or making tongs with a power hammer, blacksmithing still calls to those seeking to create with fire and ice. Desire alone, however, can not forge steel. Metal size, strength and proper forging techniques all play a part in successful smithing, but they don't guarantee it.
"You burn up a lot of metal when you first start, but your scrap pile is part of your tuition," noted Nickels, who has taught blacksmithing classes at Northwestern Michigan College.
Burning up his share of metal and blisters on his hands after 16 hour days in the forge, Ashen Carey admits he is still learning the trade even after three years in the fire. "It takes anywhere between 10 and 12 years to get the hang of it and about 20 to 25 years to really get a mastery of it," said the Ypsilanti resident, who has worked as a blacksmith at the Henry Ford Springfield Village Museum and for a carriage tour company on Mackinac Island.
As to why this ancient art remains relevant, Carey, like many blacksmiths, believes hand-crafted is becoming an honored tradition in today's high-tech, mass-produced world.
"There has been a backlash in our culture during the past 10 years where anything that is more organic is growing in popularity and all the arts are benefiting from that whether its weaving, pottery, glass blowing or blacksmithing," said Carey, who learned his particular art form while attending a week-long class in Colorado.
For Kalkaska resident Pat Hayes, a demonstrating blacksmith at the annual Michigan Renaissance Festival, interest in blacksmithing, like ironwork itself, will never go out of style.
"There is a flow to it, a beauty and a line you can't duplicate with a machine," said Hayes, a former horse fairer with the build of Thor and the forearms to match. "To do a bend on a machine you have to anchor it someplace and when you do that you leave a flat spot. It takes the character out of it, it is no longer a graceful, flowing line."
Calling it a "classic" form of craftsmanship, Nickels finds unmatched beauty in the harmonic clang of struck anvil and the delicate lines of petals forged from steel.
"Blacksmithing has a beauty and a grace about it. You're taking something that is suppose to be strong and tough and making flowers out of it."
Of course when you're talking about flowers that won't fade, rot or even burn up in a house fire, you've made an indelible mark in the world - like the finished product or not.
"There are artifacts from the Iron Ages that are still in good condition, so you're making something that will last," noted Baldwin, Mich. knife maker, Tom Johnson.
"When you start thinking about that you start being a little more careful what you do because it can be around for a while."