Sculpted Forging

The most recent OABA meeting was at the workshop facility of Jim Barton. The demonstration was by Russian trained artist blacksmith Eugeny Neumoin.

The quality of this work is nothing short of exceptional:

If you examine the very best of contemporary artistic forge work, you will see something that all these examples illustrate. The metal is so heavily sculpted, you have trouble figuring out what the starting stocks might have been.

Eugeny is an excellent example of a recent trend in Ontario at least. That of recent arrivals from Eastern Europe and the former USSR. These blacksmiths bring a solid grounding in traditional skills, gained in areas where the formal apprenticeship system is still operating.

'When *I* grow up, I hope my work gets as good as Eugeny's'

Sorry for the quality of some of these images, I only had my point & shoot digital camera with me.