About a year ago the editor of Metalsmith reached out about doing an article on pewter. There seemed to be an uptick in the creative use of this metal. It sounded like a fun project so I agreed to write an article. I did research, I asked around, I networked. Many talented people were generous with their time. I also did a ton of historical research. At the end of the day I had to cut over half of it out and we still went over the proscribed word count. But I am happy with what remained as a snapshot of this metal and the contemporary attitudes that surround it.
Monel Metal in Metalsmith Magazine (…say that five times fast! )
An article I wrote for Metalsmith magazine just came to my email inbox today and it looks great! Monel is not well known now, but it has been used in extraordinary ways and essentially created the market for stainless steel in the first half of the twentieth century. I was made aware of the alloy by Warren Holzman, who gave a presentation about its use in the Bryn Athyn Cathedral in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, at a SNAG conference. Later, when I was invited to speak at the 2019 Looking Forward Iron Symposium, I decided to explore the history of this material. I am grateful to Warren, John Rais, and Mike Rossi for their initial support of the research. I am also indebted to Archivist Gregory A. Jackson and Historic Buildings Project Manager Drew Nehlig of Bryn Athyn for their help, as well as Carlier Makigawa, Simon Cottrell, Michael Bondi and Glenn Gilmore who took the time to speak with me about their experiences with the metal.
Fewer Better Things review is out
I am pleased to announce that my review of Glenn Adamson’s Fewer Better Things is out in the newest edition of Metalsmith Magazine!
Book Review
Check out this month's Metalsmith Magazine for my review of Ezra Shale's "The Shape of Craft"
Metalsmith Magazine Article
Volume 33 number 3 of Metalsmith magazine just arrived in my mailbox. It contains an article I wrote on the history of women blacksmiths in America, "Forging On." I am grateful to the following people for their help with the project:
Maria Cristalli, Maegan Crowley, Lisa Elias, Roberta Elliot, April Franklin, Mindy Gardner, Lisa Geersten, Alice James, Shawn Lovell, Corrina Sephora Mensoff, Rachel Miller, Darryl Nelson, Lorelei Sims, Dorothy Stiegler, Marsha Trattner, Jill Turman, Andrea Lisch of the Northwest Blacksmithing Association, JoAnn Bentley at ABANA, and Stacy Cantrell for her image research.
Metalsmith Magazine Article
Volume 33 number 3 of Metalsmith magazine just arrived in my mailbox. It contains an article I wrote on the history of women blacksmiths in America, "Forging On." I am grateful to the following people for their help with the project:
Maria Cristalli, Maegan Crowley, Lisa Elias, Roberta Elliot, April Franklin, Mindy Gardner, Lisa Geersten, Alice James, Shawn Lovell, Corrina Sephora Mensoff, Rachel Miller, Darryl Nelson, Lorelei Sims, Dorothy Stiegler, Marsha Trattner, Jill Turman, Andrea Lisch of the Northwest Blacksmithing Association, JoAnn Bentley at ABANA, and Stacy Cantrell for her image research.
