| Welcome to the Wareham Forge,
the work of Artisan Blacksmith Darrell Markewitz of
Ontario Canada. Here traditional hand forged techniques
are blended with original custom designs to create
distinctive objects for garden or architecture. (What is
called 'wrought iron work' by some.) A specialist in the
Viking Age, creating reproductions for Museums and
re-enactors. Offering training courses various aspects of
Metalsmithing, plus instructional DVD's. |
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pull out guide |
Aggressively Hand Forged
Bowls and Containers
'Bowls' as objects
represent a balance:
- If considered as things that can exhibit
more design than pure function, creativity can expand.- These are large enough pieces that a wide number of forging and decorative techniques can be employed. - They are not so large or massive that they are (often) overwelmingly time consuming to make. - They also represent the kind of object that will be considered as much for their appearance as their end use. - Taken together, bowls and other containers become things to be treasured, but not so precious to make them beyond the reach of most. There is some attempt here to present
pieces in chronological order.
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forged and fabricated wrought iron & copper Fall 2008 $1200 - this item available " The body of the urn is composed of a number of individually hand forged strips of antique wrought iron. I saw samples of the basic technique employed by the Japanese blacksmith Takayoshi Komine at a workshop / demonstration two summers past. (Taka uses the method to make subtle oil lamps employed in the Tea Ceremony.) Actual historic wrought iron has been chosen for the construction because of its excellent forging characteristics and special durability. The metal itself is already some 150 years old — and should easily endure for centuries more. A fitting resting place for the memories of one past beyond us. " For more details on the thought behind
and creation of this object - Go on to a detailed
description
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Winter 2011 welded then forged mild steel plate Offcut Bowl was created for the 'Shadowbox' show to benefit the South Grey-Bruce Literacy Council. The object is about 10 x 10 in size, standing about 3 inches deep. The individual segments are in fact off cuts left over when I was cutting up some 1/8 inch thick plate I acquired as commercial scrap. Taking a clue from a method used by Japanese artisan Takayoshi Komine, the individual segments were MIG welded together on the back, then the weld beads ground smooth. The resulting flat form was then worked hot to dish it. More details available on 'Hammered Out Bits'. |
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Winter 2011 welded then forged mild steel plate $175 - this item available Here a series of plates were rough cut
with a torch. The individual plates are welded together,
in this case with weld seams deliberately rough and
applied on both the back, and visible top, surfaces. One
of these seams was folded 'backwards' to create the
ridge visible just off centre. Finally the attached
surface was forged to the bowl shape.
24 x 19 cm, top edge 8 cm high
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Winter 2012 forged and welded mild steel $200 - this item available This smaller bowl is more true to the
basic technique employed by the Japanese blacksmith
Takayoshi Komin. A number of narrow but thick, uniform
length bars are welded on the back and ground flush. The
plate thus produced is then heavily hot dished to create
the bowl form.
16 x 12 cm, top edge 9 cm high
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'Points' - Segmented Bowl 4 forged and welded mild steel plate $200 - this item available Again a series of narrow triangular shapes retain ragged edges from torch cutting. |
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Winter 2011 patterned and forged mild steel plate This piece served as a 'test of concept'
for a new decoration method I had stumbled upon. Lines
were laid on a piece of 1/8 inch thick steel plate.
After forging flat, the plate was then dished using
various rounding hammers and bottom forms. For this
piece, the top surface was wire brushed, then sealed
with satin varithane. The title is intended to be a kick
back to those who 'put a knott on anything - then call
it 'Celtic'.
(private collection)
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Spring 2011 patterned and forged mild steel plate $ 175 - this item available Continues the series. On this piece, the
natural fire scale surface was left after forging, but
still sealed with varithane for functional use.
22 x 15 cm, top edge 10 cm |
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Bulls Eye Bowl Spring 2015 patterned and forged mild steel plate $ 200 - this item available More exploration of the
'lines' technique. Here there was less hammering over
the lines, leaving a more textured surface
25 x 20 cm, top edge 8 cm |
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Off
Centre Bowl Spring 2015 patterned and forged mild steel plate $ 200 - this item available On this piece, the lines are
laid as a 'starburst' pattern, radiating from one side of
the original rectangular plate. The dishing process then
echoed this, creating an offset oval form. There is a
small flat sprial leg under the shallow side for support.
25 x 15 cm, top edge 7 cm |
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The lines laid here are more
random in pattern. The starting plate was a pronounced
lens shape, with one edge rough cut by torch. In the
forging process, the shape created has a deep, flat
bottom, the points curved under.
20 x 13 cm, top edge 7 cm
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'Starburst' Bowl
Spring 2015 patterned and forged mild steel plate Another object using a regular
'starburst' pattern to the lines, here more symetrical.
Also the use of a torch cut edge, but this time the ragged
knotches smoothed before forging. The interior has been
both dished in, and the bottom raised up slightly
(ensuring a stable base).
about 30 x 20 cm, top edge 5 cm
(private collection) |
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A number of elements within
this series continues : torch cut edges, decorative lines
flattened, dishing and raising plate. An extra addition
here is the use of 'dry rub' paint. A dark green paint was
rubbed over the textured surface, then wiped clean. This
results in subtle colour, mainly caught in the lines and
forge marks.
26 x 21 cm, top edge 8 cm
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Fall 2008 forged bloomery iron 'Offering Bowl' is forged from part of the 'Resurection'
Bloom made at in 2005. More Details available on 'Hammered
Out Bits' |
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Bloom Bowl 2 The parent bloom was created at the 2005 Smeltfest event.
The metal itself was made from ore smelted using a direct
reduction furnace based on those from the Viking Age. |
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Offering Bowl 2 /
Turf to Tools
Summer 2014 forged bloomery iron The parent bloom was created as part of the Turf to Tools 1 project at the Scottish Sculpture Workshop (Lumsden, Scotland). The forge set up and equipment at SSW was at best mininmal. As well, the coal available was not the best (high sulphur content). As a result, the forge weld from the original consolodation compaction and fold was not as secure as I had hoped. In the end this resulted in the 'double layer' effect during the dishing phase of the forging. (In the collection of the Scottish Sculpture Workshop) |
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The starting iron bloom was produced in smelt #24, June 2007. The hemi-spherical mass was first flattened to a plate, with the ragged edges and textures of the parent bloom retained. For a full description of the complex creation process of this object, see the blog post. 15 x 12 cm, top edge 7 cm high
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 Who is Darrell Markewitz? |
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