Iron Dreams
July 6-27, 2018
Iron Dreams
Opening reception: Friday, July 6, 5:00-9:00 PM
Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed on Wednesday, July 4, for the holiday.
“Iron Dreams” is a show of hand-forged ironwork made by five metal workers in Tennessee. The show will focus on functional and sculptural ironwork for the home and garden. A diverse collection of work results from the unique style and expression of each artist. Featured artists include Joe Babb, Brad Greenwood, Abraham Pardee, Mike Rose, and Ryan T. Schmidt.
Joe Babb: I have been a maker of things in various materials all of my life. In 1979 I lost my heart to working in steel with forge and anvil. In the last 10 or so years I’ve been lucky enough to devote most of my time to the design and production of custom ironwork. I enjoy making beautiful things that are also functional. I play with combinations of geometric designs and organic forms.
Abraham Pardee: Abe holds a BFA in Metals from the Appalachian Center for Craft in Smithville, TN, has completed the Apprentice Program at the Metal Museum in Memphis, and has worked for several professional blacksmith shops across the country. He has been exhibiting work nationally since 2009, teaching workshops since 2011, and has run his own blacksmithing studio, Pardee Metal, in Sparta, TN since the beginning of 2016.
Brad Greenwood: “Artist” is not an adjective that I’ve ever used of myself although I have been accused of it from time to time. It seems that I’ve been graced with the ability to acquire some skills to do metalwork that is appealing to some. I started learning in about 1999 and continue through today. Despite my best efforts to not turn a hobby that I loved into a “job” circumstances beyond my control forced that to happen in 2013. I am very grateful to be able say that I love my “job”. So, look at my work and take away any meaning you like as I create nothing and only hope for reasonable likenesses.
Mike Rose: My work is a combination of traditional blacksmithing and sculptural expression. The methodology of the forging processes found in making gates, colonial hardware can also be applied to sculpture. Incorporating whimsical imagery, compositional concerns in cast and forged works the result is defined as much by process as concept. “Each piece takes form as an evolutionary experience suggested by an idea, manifested through process.” I have been smithing for over forty years, twenty-five as Master Smith at Dollywood theme park and eight years as Professor of Fine Arts at Pellissippi State College. Currently retired and working in my studio located in Hampton, Tennessee.
Ryan T. Schmidt: Mitty’s Metal Art. I moved to Cumberland Gap, Tennessee from Kansas City, Missouri with my fiancé for her job in June of 2015. Upon our move I was unable to secure fulltime employment. I met my neighbor, William Brock, owner of Rusted Bird Studio. In October 2015, under instruction of William, I started learning the art of blacksmithing.