willofthewisp In reply to Peter-The-Knotter [2010-04-04 07:23:05 +0000 UTC]

Thanks! Summer is on the way; I just know it.

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willofthewisp In reply to Darrian-Ashoka [2010-04-04 07:22:09 +0000 UTC]

That's how it goes here on DA. The funny thing is that some of them are still in my in-box. But there are lots of other places to look at skin, a lot more than there are to look at copper.

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willofthewisp In reply to Starsong-Studio [2010-02-21 04:48:57 +0000 UTC]

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willofthewisp In reply to Avorian [2009-12-31 07:59:58 +0000 UTC]

Thanks Hope winter quarter is good to you.

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willofthewisp In reply to Peter-The-Knotter [2009-12-25 03:48:25 +0000 UTC]

Thanks I hope to be posting some things soon.

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willofthewisp In reply to Lykaios [2009-07-22 16:20:53 +0000 UTC]

Here is another link for you: [link] I recommend their pitch; Brian uses it as does Travis, and I recommend the M. Lewis book the sell too.

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Lykaios In reply to willofthewisp [2009-07-22 22:40:19 +0000 UTC]

Thanks very much

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willofthewisp In reply to Lykaios [2009-07-21 17:04:10 +0000 UTC]

Thanks for the watch and for checking out my web site. I have a question though. Do you remember how you first found my work on line? Did you stumble on it, do a search, follow a link? I'm not exactly the high tech. sort of guy, but I want people to be able to see my work, and maybe then come take one or another of the classes I teach at various metalsmithing schools. So I'm always interested in making my web site easy to find and to view.

So what school do you attend? the smithing room looks pretty good. By the way if you get the chance, I have a metals teacher to recommend: Brian Clarke mostly teaches at his workshop in Ireland, but also in France and in Ontario. The Ireland page on my site has pictures, and here is the link to his site [link]

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Lykaios In reply to willofthewisp [2009-07-22 11:15:51 +0000 UTC]

No problem. I first found your site when looking for pictures of forged bracelets I believe, so I found it through a google search.

I attend NSCAD (Nova Scotia College of Art and Design) and am doing a jewellery and metalsmithing Bachelor's degree there. I'll have a look for that teacher around the web, though even Ontario is a bit far for me

Thanks for the watch as well

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willofthewisp In reply to Lykaios [2009-07-22 16:12:30 +0000 UTC]

Well it is good to know that Google is out there working for me. I hadn't thought much about it, until a year or so ago, when Brian mentioned to me that I was at the top of the Google list. I didn't even know what he was talking about. He asked if I hadn't looked myself up to see what was out there about me. When we put my name in sure enough there was my site at the top of the list; above all the other guys with my name, including, the movie effects guy, the lawyer, the ball player, the college professor, even the gospel composer, and the civil rights activist.

It looks like your college has a pretty good smithing studio, and that is a good thing. Remember though that this is your chance not just to learn new techniques, but also to try out tools and decide which ones you want to buy or make. Travis Conn spent his final two years in school using the school's facilities to get his own studio set up, and much of his college loans to buy tools. I worked as a blacksmith for the University of Oregon, making tools for the Jewelry studio, but then I dropped out to get married and follow my ex-wife to a distant graduate school. I was left with no studio and few tools; it was a little like drug withdrawal. I was doing crazy things like soldering up rings with the gas flame on the kitchen stove, and putting buffing wheels on a circular saw. Eventually we split up and I did build my studio, but it took a long time, and in some ways I wish I had stayed in school.

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Lykaios In reply to willofthewisp [2009-07-22 22:37:31 +0000 UTC]

I certainly will use this time to my advantage. I have a bit of a list of tools I need/want to make, and hope to be blacksmithing VERY soon!! Thanks for all your useful and thoughtful comments

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willofthewisp In reply to Lykaios [2009-07-23 16:53:13 +0000 UTC]

I can't encourage you enough to learn as much as possible about blacksmithing. It allows me to make a lot of my own tools, and a little extra money making tools for the students in the classes I teach. Recently I did a two weekend intro to stonecarving workshop, and we spent the first day at the forge, so that I knew that all the students would be able to maintain the tools. And after the workshop they each bought a tool kit, nothing special just a mallet and half a dozen chisels, for almost as much as I was charging for the workshop. In my short time at university, my work study job was as a blacksmith, making tools for the jewelry studio, and it was one of the best jobs ever. When they needed tools, one of the Professors would come out to the smithy, show me how to make what they needed, and tell me how many. If there was spare time I could make tools for myself, and if other students wanted to come work I was to help them with their projects. It was really one of the best school experiences I had until I went to study in Ireland. Keep it up.

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Lykaios In reply to willofthewisp [2009-07-24 01:06:19 +0000 UTC]

Thanks. It was actually my first ambition (and still is) to become first and foremost a blacksmith, rather than a jeweler. I'll let you know how it goes

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willofthewisp In reply to Lykaios [2009-07-24 06:03:07 +0000 UTC]

Here is a little bit of inspiration for you: [link] Heidi is the best, and her and Dan are doing some really nice work these days. I thought that I would end up doing the blacksmithing thing full time, but I damaged my shoulder doing carpentry and now have to limit myself to a day or two at a time at the anvil. On the other hand it is unbelievably helpful to have had all that experience at the forge. I have a deep understanding of the character of metals, and I seldom get stuck without the right tool. So I hope you keep after the hot iron, and I look forward to seeing what you post on line in the future.

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Lykaios In reply to willofthewisp [2009-07-24 21:10:26 +0000 UTC]

Thanks so much for that great link

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willofthewisp In reply to PaperTales [2009-07-15 16:35:24 +0000 UTC]

There are plenty of perv.s out there to fave. the risque pieces on my gallery. I actually think it is sort of sweet that some of them might make you blush.

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PaperTales In reply to willofthewisp [2009-07-22 15:16:31 +0000 UTC]

Hmmm, I guess it can be charming, though it can be quite annoying as well. Some of the emoticons on deviant art already make me blush...

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willofthewisp In reply to PaperTales [2009-07-24 05:44:09 +0000 UTC]

What I find annoying is when I stumble on a really cool bit of artwork on DA, and then it turns out that all the other stuff that that artist does is low quality soft porn.

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willofthewisp In reply to Chinesesocal [2009-05-28 17:02:04 +0000 UTC]

Thanks.

Cheers.

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willofthewisp In reply to selfregion [2009-05-10 05:50:52 +0000 UTC]

Thanks for putting up some of that old IWW art from way back when.

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willofthewisp In reply to tamusia [2009-04-07 04:07:59 +0000 UTC]

You are very welcome.

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willofthewisp In reply to odavis [2009-04-02 07:01:02 +0000 UTC]

No prob. Nice gallery.

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odavis In reply to willofthewisp [2009-04-03 20:29:44 +0000 UTC]

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willofthewisp In reply to odavis [2009-04-07 04:07:23 +0000 UTC]

Couldn't have said it better.

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odavis In reply to willofthewisp [2009-04-08 21:33:02 +0000 UTC]

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willofthewisp In reply to Kitten-of-Woe [2009-03-19 17:41:00 +0000 UTC]

Hey,

Thanks so much for including me in your knotwork feature. And really what doesn't look good with knotted decoration?

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Kitten-of-Woe In reply to willofthewisp [2009-03-20 02:41:40 +0000 UTC]

I love your metalwork so it was an absolute pleasure to include you!

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willofthewisp In reply to Kitten-of-Woe [2009-03-20 18:53:54 +0000 UTC]

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willofthewisp In reply to tamusia [2009-03-08 21:22:27 +0000 UTC]

Thanks. I wish you lived nearer; it would be interesting to do some collaborative pieces. The other day I was thinking about your city for reasons not at all related to art. I live in the country, but near a small university, and one that has a program researching bacteria phages, which are a sort of virus that infects disease causing bacteria. It turns out that there is one other school in the world that has been doing similar work, and it is in Tiblisi.

I will look forward to seeing more enamels in the future.

Cheers.

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