Stiegler Metal Design

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Stiegler Metal Design

Stiegler Metal DesignStiegler Metal DesignStiegler Metal Design
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Artist Statement
  • Photo Gallery
  • Contact Us

Artist Statement

In 1973, I  prayed for something that I could do that shows that God exists and  helps in our lives. I plugged into iron and never looked back; it is  what I am intended to do. I feel privileged to have been in on the  ground floor of the rebirth and renaissance of the art of smithing in  America.
 

My  business has always had a specific structure: God is in charge of  finding the clients and I am in charge of doing the work. God supplies  the gift of forging and I tell those who ask that it is a gift and where  I got it. Doors opened, things happened, and 35 years later I’m still  doing it the same way as when I first started. I’m just more experienced  now and the expectations are higher, but the work is ever-challenging.  The most challenging part of this type of business arrangement is to get  out of the way and let the work sell itself.
 

Over  the past 35 years I have taught several hundred workshops and lectures. I  forge steel or bronze.  Lately it has been bronze 655. In the last five  years, we have run nearly 50,000 lbs. of bronze 655 through Stiegler  Metal Design. We have one 5 gallon bucket of scrap left over after  turning that tonnage into railings, doors, gates, lighting, sink bases,  and hammered bar tops. We specialize in rivets, mortice, and tenon. It  looks old and it feels old. I do high end forgings for those with  discretionary income. Most of my work is in Pebble Beach and Palo Alto,  CA.
 

It all  started when my husband (now deceased) took a course in horse shoeing  at the farrier school in our area of Washington State. I had arranged to  take the next course. As I was getting ready to start, the instructor  left and a new hot-shot took over. The new instructor (Barry Rice) saw  the potential that I had for ironwork over horse shoeing. He pointed me  in the direction of Frank Turley. In turn, Frank Turley pointed me to  ABANA (less than two years old at the time!), Francis Whittaker, and Tom  Bredlow. Many years have gone by, each with its own set of challenges and  learning experiences.
 

From  Turley's, I was asked to teach blacksmithing (imagine that!!!) at the  college where I learned to shoe horses. I learned along with my students  and this is probably why I love teaching today. I taught there for 20  years in the Continuing Education Department. I received an Honorary  Teaching Certificate from that institution to teach Adult Education  Classes. I have been invited to teach workshops and demonstrations all  over the U.S. and abroad. They invite me to spend time in their shops  and share their secrets with me while I share mine with them. I have  learned along with all of them. We have gone to school together; one  step at a time, one technique at a time.
 

I have  been fortunate to watch and learn from many great smiths: Turley,  Whitaker, Paley, Gunter, Ross, and more. The Bealer Award was a highlight of my life and having my daughter there  to present it was priceless. The Laureate Award from the 1998 ABANA  Conference is precious to me. Two Gold Trouser Button awards from AACHEN  Teaching and Design, presented by the late Manfred Bredohl, are among  my favorites.
 

Who  could orchestrate such a career? Certainly not I. If I had known where I  wanted to go and what I wanted to achieve, I would likely have screwed  it up from the start. I have let God be the business manager because He  knows everyone and I have tried to let it work out by itself. I had no  idea all of "this" was out there. I have had a wonderful, interesting  life because of it. I just give credit where it is due and give  everything into the industry that I am asked. That's one of the reasons I  love ABANA so much; it's my chance to give back on a daily basis.
 

The  success that I find in this career is counted in the integrity that I  place into every project that I do and into every aspect of my life.  Touching the life of another along the way is the real measure of  success to me. With smithing, I have been able to live a life of  integrity, touch the lives of others, and show that God loves every one  of us and helps us all. I love my life, but it has certainly been hard  and filled with difficult hurdles along the way.  However, I have the  assurance, based upon the philosophy that started everything, it will  all work out in the end.  I need ask for nothing more. I step up to the  anvil and hammer iron and bronze. If I am at all fortunate, I will die  with my hammer in hand.

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