•Artistic

•Functional

•Enduring

With fire, hammer and spirit Graeme Sheffield utilizes traditional and contemporary blacksmithing techniques to create forms and textures of lasting beauty.

Inspired by the natural world around him, Graeme hand forges original pieces out of steel, displaying the strength of the medium yet the delicacy of the hammer.

Graeme Sheffield is an artisan blacksmith who lives and works in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Graeme is the recipient of the 2007 Guelph Arts Council Jane Graham Memorial Award. This Award offers him opportunities to pursue both his personal and professional development in the art of blacksmithing.

Sheffield was also a finalist in the 2007 Guelph-Wellington Business Enterprise Centre's Business Star Awards for Business Plan of the Year.

Experience

Graeme's history of working with metal has evolved over the years, where he has gained knowledge and experience with design, function and form through designing and fabricating custom automation machines out of stainless and mild steel. He uses his years of acquired metalworking skill and enjoyment of the discreet fluidity of steel to his advantage when creating custom blacksmithed pieces for his clients.

Focus

Graeme is dedicated to building relationships with his clientele in order to provide personalized service that can offer customized solutions in a friendly professional manner.

Vision

The art of blacksmithing allows me to interpret the lines, forms and textures I see around me in this world, and express myself and my observations through the use of some of the very core elements of the earth (iron, fire, water). Forging metal is not only a physical process of manipulating the medium to fill in a particular space, but also involves visualizing the empty spaces around the metal. Incorporating particular shapes and textures in a piece can produce very dramatic results in and around it.

Participating in, and constant exploration of, such an ancient craft as blacksmithing holds a great deal of mystique and adventure to me. Having the ability to create items using the same basic tools and techniques that have been used for centuries is a thrilling experience. When a piece of steel is heated to yellow-hot (around 2000 degrees F) it is then that the magic begins for me. It is then that I am able to shape, move and manipulate the steel into forms that bring it to life. It is truly a pleasure to take an otherwise cold, lifeless medium as steel and transform it into an object that allows people to appreciate its flexibility, strength and limitations at the same time.

Graeme is an active member of the Ontario Artist Blacksmith Association, Guelph Arts Council and also a member of the Guelph Studio Tour Group.

Graeme's work can be viewed at The Barber Gallery in Guelph, Ontario

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