RACHEL E. DAVID: BLACKSMITH
I am an artist blacksmith. In my work, form follows function for my functional and architectural pieces. I combine ancient techniques with contemporary functions and aesthetics to create unique architectural elements, furniture, kitchen and household items and sculptures.
In creating my work I am always aware of the very nature of my material: steel. There are references in my work to the primal ore from which steel is made, as well as the fluidity of the molten steel. From there I try to capture the unique balance of the natural world finding inspiration in flowers, soil and rock formations, trees with their bark and knots. Through the balance of the forms that inspire me and the preindustrial technologies that I work with I create an object with contemporary contextual pertinence.