Where Iron Becomes Stories
It’s fun to go exploring because you never know who you might meet or what you might find. I wander through scrapyards, barns, and old farms, rescuing forgotten pieces of metal that still have a spark of life in them. Then, with fire, an anvil, and a hammer, I give them a new direction — turning what was once discarded into something alive again.
Every object carries a past, and every strike of the hammer becomes a conversation with it. Some pieces evolve into benches or fences; others twist their way into sculptures that tell their own story. Whether functional or purely artistic, each creation is a reflection of transformation — proof that with enough heat and heart, even the heaviest material can be reborn.
For me, blacksmithing isn’t just work. It’s meeting people, hearing stories, finding beauty where others see rust, and leaving behind something that carries both the maker’s touch and the memory of what it used to be. Sometimes that means building a memorial bench or a sculpture for a loved one. Sometimes it’s simply creating for the joy of creating.
Services
- Repurposed & Reclaimed Art Pieces — Found objects reborn through fire and imagination.
- Pure Art Pieces — Sculptures and designs that celebrate form, fusion, and flow.
- Functional Art Pieces — Benches, tables, and custom metalwork made to endure and inspire.
The Love of Ironwork, Born in My Blood
While studying sculpture at KU, I would often think back to my grandmother’s stories about spending time with my granddad in his blacksmith shop — the sounds, the smells, the pure joy of being together. As I worked on fabricating birds, those memories took hold, and I began wondering what it might be like to blacksmith myself.
One of my professors introduced me to a friend’s blacksmith shop in Kansas City, and the light went on. That moment led me down a path of discovery — learning how to draw out, bend, twist, and forge weld metal. I began hunting for old tools tucked away like time capsules, meeting new faces, hearing new stories, and finding family connections across the state.
Eventually, that path brought me to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where I studied under Frank Turley and learned the foundational skills of blacksmithing. When I returned to Kansas, I started combining those new techniques with my art — playing with fire, iron, and imagination.
After a few years, my journey took me to Aspen, Colorado, where I worked for Royal Metal. A year later, tragedy struck my hometown of Greensburg, Kansas, when an EF5 tornado destroyed most of the town. I returned to help rebuild — not with traditional materials, but by repurposing found objects from family farms to create handrails for new homes. It was an honor to meet so many families, share meals, and listen to their stories passed down through generations.
That work spread into larger communities, including Wichita, where I was commissioned to forge a fence for the Botanical Gardens in honor of a family’s legacy. While gathering materials, the client’s son told me how his dad always refused to throw things away, saying, “I’m gonna use that someday.” I smiled and said, “Your dad was right — we are using it.”
This craft has given me countless connections and a lifetime of learning — one I’m still chasing every day. After years of travel, I’ve returned home to eastern Kansas, to Ottawa — the town where I grew up and now continue to dream, create, and shape metal, glass, and paint into one-of-a-kind gates, fences, handrails, sculptures, flowers, and my favorite — forged and fabricated birds.