About
A carpenter friend of mine once told me that no matter how hopeless things looked he could always feel positive because he had a skill. He was useful. I needed a job and I decided I also needed to try to become as proficient as possible in a skill. I answered an ad for an apprentice welder and got the job. This led to blacksmithing. The first time I moved the metal it made me feel different, hopeful.
The rhythm of the hammer on the anvil .When it is quiet and you are really focused. You get your nose close to the work as it turns from yellow to red. The sound changes pitch and there is a sweet smell in the warmth coming off the cooling steel.
Sometimes it is hard to be hopeful. Humans, what we do to each other and to our world. Metalwork is a skill that comes with a measure of violence. Working in this environment helps me to redirect the feelings I get when I read or watch the news. I put my head down and work. I pick up a piece of steel and light a fire.
Why iron and steel? I understand why people ask me this question. Iron and steel are cold and dark and often creepy. They are devoid of color unless they rust which they always do. Rust is decay. I work with this medium because it gives me hope. It helps me to control my fear. I can pick up a cold , hard, plain piece of steel and by some crazy primitive alchemy I can change its form. Steel is not inherently beautiful like gold or copper. The beauty is created by work and expectation. Working steel helps me to believe that other things in life can be changed by intention and diligence. I am not so naive to believe that I can change life's course but perhaps as with steel I can make it manifest some beauty. It never loses it’s temperament completely but maybe by changing it’s form I can distract myself from it’s despair.
Photo credit: Kathleen Sheffer Photography
Photo credit:Kathleen Sheffer Photography
Monica’s architectural and sculptural work has been commissioned and collected by galleries and private individuals. She has been featured in many publications including, Metall Design International(Germany), Elementum Journal (UK), Fine Homebuilding Magazine (USA), HEPHAISTOS(Germany), The Anvil’s Ring (USA), and NOMMA(USA). She has been a featured demonstrator for the Artist Blacksmith Association of North America, The California Blacksmith Association, The Colorado Metal Smiths Association and many others. She was the 2018 recipient of the Victor Thomas Jacoby Award for excellence in art. Monica’s work has been featured at numerous galleries and museums including a solo show at the Metal Museum, Memphis Tennessee. Her most recent project was a 65’ handrail for the Metal Museum’s new campus in Memphis Tennessee.
I began as an industrial artist. I am trained as a blacksmith to shape steel into tools and connections that will serve an efficient end. I have made a name for myself in the blacksmithing community by forging forms that contradict the weight of the material and the prudential practice of the craft. The strength of steel offers me the opportunity to experiment with balance and asymmetry. Its versatility provides the ability to create surprising forms. I have always been fascinated by the idea that the shape of something can create an emotion in people. I want people to connect with the piece, to touch it and to use it. Though all of my work is held together tightly while in use, many pieces are like puzzles and can be taken apart. Concentrating on the beauty of each segment of a piece, my goal is to create a finished item that will be as pleasing to run your fingers over as it is to look at. I can follow the vein of iron and carbon. I can take it to a place of function, to a gate, a tool, a joint. Or I can follow it where it wants to go. Or I can do both. This is what I am trying to do. Let the metal move. Explore the forms it takes from steel bar to skin, bone and water.
I live and work in Arcata in Humboldt County, California.
““ I have worked with a number of Blacksmiths in my 45 year building career including the late and great Toby Hickman. Working with Monica Coyne on a recent project was a great pleasure.The project was complex and she designed, engineered and created a piece that honors this great craft and its tradition to the fullest. It will be here for our children’s children.Thank you Monica for this simply elegant work .”
Jim Groeling Architecture in the Hand Crafted Style”
Exhibitions
Open Studios, Arcata, California, June 1-2, June 8-9
Morris Graves Museum of Art, Iron Dryads and Other Forgings; Solo show. September 20, 2020- November 8, 2020
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Meta-Formation: New Connections in Contemporary Blacksmithing, October 15, 2020 - January 3, 2021
Metaformation show, Tennessee March-June 2019.
Solo Show, The Metal Museum, Memphis. July-September 2019
Galleries
Elementum Gallery, Sherborne, UK,
The Blacksmith Shop Ferndale, California
