[TheForge] question for part-timers & hobbyists

[Patty Draper/Bill Robertson]

My first goal from the start has been to pursue iron for art not for profit,
as I believe that when money is the motivator the art will suffer.  I have
worked as an artist taxidermist for twenty years and learned early on that
in order to make a profit you have to limit the time spent on a project.
Time equals money. It has been a nice consequence that over time my skills
improve, my speed improves, and the profits improve.  But it is hard to
justify giving a 110 percent to a project if the average customer will not
appreciate it, your workload will get backed up and your profits will
suffer.
 My second goal was to equip myself with the right tools.  I built a small
shop and went on the grand quest to find the lost junkyard of blacksmith
tools. What fun that has been!
 The third goal has been to walk up the ladder and learn the techniques.
>From simple hammer and anvil projects to carving, chasing, inlaying,
sculpting and so on.  Building the tools that I needed as I went.  People
are starting to say that I will end up going to my grave with nothing more
than a shop full of tools to show for all my efforts.  But after twelve
years I am beginning to be able to figure out how most things were made and
have a basic idea of how to go about reproducing them.
 My ultimate goal is to be able to visualize a work of art and be able to
create it without being hindered by not having the tools, knowledge or
hammer control to do it
The blacksmith organizations have been an incredibly wonderful avenue to
achieve this.  Unlike the world of taxidermy where your techniques are your
competitive edge and a question would be met with laughter, the blacksmiths
and their knowledge is free flowing.  And as a consequence, in addition to
my personal goals, I try to teach and give back as much to those lower down
on the ladder as those higher up have done for me.   �Bill-.