Blacksmith Extraordinaire Andrew Crawford's Gates
Follow the fascinating process, which uses ancient art and modern technology, and see the blacksmith's breathtaking finished gates
On a recent trip to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, I was taken with the beautiful metal gates created by Andrew T. Crawford. From tools to sunflowers, these beautiful and functional sculptures are created with a knowledge of the ancient art of blacksmithing and the latest technology.
Crawford began to explore blacksmithing while studying sculpture at The Rhode Island School of Design. "Blacksmithing interested me because it's a functional craft, and I knew it was a good way to make a living," he says. He moved back to Atlanta, opened up his own shop and slowly built a business, starting with purely functional jobs while catering to make ends meet. "For the first three to four years, I was making mostly mundane stuff," he says. "It took a good five years of wanting to quit many times to get the buzz going, gain confidence and design more aggressively," he admits. "As the business has grown, the clientele has grown and become more sophisticated, and the work and the quality of craftsmanship from me and from my employees has grown with it; everything has sort of fed on itself."
Crawford, four craftspeople and his assistant work in a studio in Atlanta's West Midtown, with equipment that ranges from a large power hammer from a World War II ship to a computerized water-jet cutter.
Crawford began to explore blacksmithing while studying sculpture at The Rhode Island School of Design. "Blacksmithing interested me because it's a functional craft, and I knew it was a good way to make a living," he says. He moved back to Atlanta, opened up his own shop and slowly built a business, starting with purely functional jobs while catering to make ends meet. "For the first three to four years, I was making mostly mundane stuff," he says. "It took a good five years of wanting to quit many times to get the buzz going, gain confidence and design more aggressively," he admits. "As the business has grown, the clientele has grown and become more sophisticated, and the work and the quality of craftsmanship from me and from my employees has grown with it; everything has sort of fed on itself."
Crawford, four craftspeople and his assistant work in a studio in Atlanta's West Midtown, with equipment that ranges from a large power hammer from a World War II ship to a computerized water-jet cutter.
"Most of the ideas happen in the sketchbook," says Crawford. "The gates exhibit gave me a chance to look at past works and make them exactly the way I'd want them for myself. These are honed-down, pure versions of things I've wanted to do."
Here is his original vision for one of his tool gates.
Here, Crawford forms the tools out of metal. The forged pieces will be laid out and welded together.
Here is a completed gate. This one has a permanent home at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. "The process of blacksmithing gives the gate its weathered texture and age," Crawford says.
"Not all blacksmithing is done by a great big guy with a beard and an anvil," says Crawford. "The process is very multilayered." While blacksmithing tools like these are an ancient part of the craft, Crawford makes sure to employ new technologies that can help him make better finished products.
This is the forge, which reaches temperatures from 1,000 to 1,500 degrees Farenheit. The metal is placed inside until it's blistering hot.
"Once the metal is forged, you have a very small amount of time to bend it into the shape you want; it's a matter of a few seconds," says Crawford.
Shaping, bending, twisting and manipulating the hot metal is called forging. The process of forging metal and forming it is blacksmithing.
This is a power hammer in action, part of the forging process (if this picture were in color, you'd see that the tip of the metal is glowing). "You use a pedal to smack the metal, kind of like a giant sewing machine," explains Crawford. "You can move a lot of metal through here very rapidly."
"While blacksmithing is an ancient craft and very little has changed, we are always looking to employ the latest technology, because our job is to make beautiful things, not historic reenactment," says Crawford.
New technologies include electronic welders and grinders and a water-jet cutter. The leaves on this intricate gate were cut by the latter.
New technologies include electronic welders and grinders and a water-jet cutter. The leaves on this intricate gate were cut by the latter.
These gates were the first big commission at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. They used to mark the vehicular entrance to the gardens; now they are a sculptural form in the new cascade gardens. This job gave Crawford exposure, attracting more clients and helping his business grow. Now he considers gates to be the mainstay of his career.
This gate marks one entrance to the Japanese garden.
True works of art, Crawford's gates are an investment. "Creating one of these is an expensive process," explains Crawford. "It takes a lot of energy, materials and labor. One of these gates takes five people about three weeks to complete." This gate, appropriately displayed in the edible gardens during the exhibition, is composed of sinuous cornstalks.
Here's a closer look at how intricate these pieces are; this is one of the ears of corn from the cornstalk gate.
This whimsical No Trespassing gate's permanent home is the State Botanical Garden of Georgia.
Visitors to the gardens are enjoying this gate's temporary placement in the café's courtyard.
This gate shows off some blacksmithing twists and curves.
This valve gate is one of my personal favorites; it seems like some sort of industrial Dr. Seuss character that's come to life.
A sunflower gate marks a transitional spot between the entry sequence into the gardens and the parterre gardens.
See a video of Crawford and his team making this gate
See a video of Crawford and his team making this gate
It's amazing to experience the gates from afar and then close up, especially after learning about the entire process that went into making them.
Crawford has some other permanent pieces at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, including this bench and other seating along the new canopy walk.
What's next for Crawford? He is currently working on a large restaurant job that includes crafting doors, windows, bar stools, lighting, utility shelving and a big shell for a brick-fired oven. One residential project includes railings, lighting and a roof-deck bridge.
Though he, his business and his team continue to stretch and grow, he says, "I still haven't hit my stride. ... There are better things to come for my company and myself."
The gates exhibition will be at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens though the end of April 2012. To contact Crawford, check out his website, Iron Is King.
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Though he, his business and his team continue to stretch and grow, he says, "I still haven't hit my stride. ... There are better things to come for my company and myself."
The gates exhibition will be at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens though the end of April 2012. To contact Crawford, check out his website, Iron Is King.
More:
Austin Sculptor Turns Screen Doors Into Art
Interview: Ceramic Art Goes Vertical
Tastemaker: Salvaged Sculptures by John Whitmarsh