...Well, not really. In reality this all started years ago,when I read the My Side of the Mountain trilogy. I yearned to be that kid and quickly developed dreams of falconry and blacksmithing. Having only enough time to devote to one I chose the less impossible and stumbled my way into a guild, a forge, and some beginner lessons. I went smithing as often as possible during high school, finding what spare moments I could. I spent hours at a time in front of the fire and anvil; freezing or boiling depending on the weather, but did not care so long as my work completely engrossed me.
As soon as I settled into college at William & Mary I pursed avenues to continue forging. You might have thought that, of any university in the country, it was the most likely to support such a hobby. After all, it's next to Colonial Williamsburg (and their blacksmiths are well known and highly respected in the smithing world), they have a Medieval and Renaissance Studies major, and a club on campus – “the Society for Creative Anachronism” – expressed interest in setting up a forge they could use. But as I began to investigate all my options I hit roadblock after roadblock. This smiths in Colonial Williamsburg said it was absolutely impossible for me to use their forge. Despite the Society's interest I found that few of the students involved, or the SCA itself, were willing to make an initial investment of time or money. Finally, even though the art department was intimately connected to the Med-Ren major, the professor in control of work spaces thought of blacksmithing as a craft rather than an art. As a result, she felt unable to deprive her students of potential facilities.
In the hope of being granted the favor of a small, of of the way place to forge I started working for the art department as a studio assistant. After two years of hard work I managed to get a small, unused space outside. Over that time I met another blacksmith, who also happened to be a student in my year. In addition, Chris, this other smith, does silversmithing. Seeing his work rekindled a desire I had of pursuing other, more delicate, forms of smithing.
So I chose to follow that dream. The summer after my junior year I spent a month in Florence. Of that month I spent a week and a half working with a Jeweler, Zachary Androus. Zachary and I worked one on one at his bench, using his tools, talking through many aspects of silversmithing. At the end of our time I had managed to make a cuff bracelet and a pair of cuff-links – complete from concept to finished product.
It has been 7 months since I graduated and at least 7 years since I first put hammer to anvil. So why do I feel like it's beginning now? Because now begins the real trial, now begins my plea to the world. Now, I show people what I have made, the products of my heart, mind, and hands. And ask that you deem them good enough, that you support me and my love of these things, these ways. Because without you all my passion and determination will not be enough; the demands of the everyday would insist I chose something else, something less rewarding, to support myself.
