We’re committed to providing a host of resources to male and female blacksmiths of all ability levels through podcast interviews spotlighting your fellow blacksmiths. The podcast interviews are designed to help improve your metal working skills while providing an opportunity to connect with others who share your passion of blacksmithing!
Nov 17, 2014
Rachel is a blacksmith and artist living and working in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her business is called Red Metal Designs. She strives to create work that invites the touch of a hand because of a tactile, appealing surface. Her organic, botanical forms have abstract, contemporary aesthetics to achieve her goal of creating well-proportioned and timeless functional art. She likes to push the traditional blacksmithing approach to new boundaries, making new methods built on the old.
Her architectural and sculptural work can be seen at Hotel Club La Pension on Decatur St, New Orleans and at the Bywater Art Lofts also in New Orleans, as well as in many people’s private collections.
Rachel's Links:
Rachel’s Red Metal Business Facebook page
Rachel’s Red Metal Website
Rachel David’s video on Youtube
Jazzfest interview with Rachel on YouTube
What we Talked about:
· She started working with metal in 2001
· Taking a blacksmithing class from Meagan Reilly at Penland School for 2 months
· Her demonstration at ABANA 2014 by herself and with Jeffery Funk
· Taking a class from Daniel Miller at John C Campbell School
· She has a very private creative mode
· How Esty is working for her…..$0 so far!
· What kind of work she does for business: in a gallery, architectural gates, art festivals and private commissions
· The art festivals she participates in (7 this year!!): a lot of hard work, long days, can be risky, gets her out of town and she likes the comradery of the people
· Her love for making public art and why
· Her current public art project of 4 wall panels for HRI Properties in New Orleans
· How big her shop is and that she also lives in an apartment that is part of the shop
· How she made her gas forge
· Ian Brooks is the recommendation from Rachel to buy a Fly Press
· A 17 hour drive to buy her power hammer, $8000 Anyang, James Johnson is the Anyang Rep out of Texas
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