Forged at Home
Joe Shevelan
The point of making is to have made; that is something people get very little chance to do in day-to-day life. Making heals, it changes, and it helps people grow.
Since a young age, I’ve always been interested in making, spending time drawing, crafting and learning. Seeing how the small things I could make affected the world around me with little sculptures and drawings.
Admittedly, they were not that good, but at the time, they meant everything to me because I had done something. make and have made can significantly affect you. Even though I didn’t know it at that age, this was the start of an artistic journey that would lead me to meet some of the most amazing people and create real art.
At age ten, I remember telling my mum that I like to learn blacksmithing of courses. No one would let a ten-year-old boy into a workshop to hit hot metal, so we looked for ways that I could start learning. A local smith told us about the blacksmithing and metalwork course in Hereford, and after visiting on an open day, I knew it was what I wanted to do.
After getting on to the course, I started training in traditional blacksmithing; for three years, I learned everything I could about the craft, and I always got it wrong. I couldn’t make anything right, burning everything and taking way longer than most people to make the assigned projects. now and again, I still have days like that, but I priested and have continued to persist till I joined the artist blacksmithing course in 2020, where I started a new leg of my journey.
Now I’ve fallen in love with the artistry of it all, learning the power of craft and how it changes people. Making can help people grow and heal; I’m always surprised at how my art has changed me and made me who I am today.
The Work Continues
Thanks for your interest in my work and for taking the time to learn what it’s all about. As my craft and skill grow, I hope to help as many people as possible if there is anything I can help you with or if you have any questions about my work, please contact me here or on my Instagram.