ABOUT CALEB KULLMAN
Initially my interest in blacksmithing was born out of a desire to experience something completely new and different from the academic path I had been following for the majority of my life to that point. After earning my B.A. in Anthropology in 1993, I enrolled in a trade school in Tucumcari, NM to learn farriery. That program was only one semester, but I wanted to pursue blacksmithing further, so I subsequently apprenticed with a well-known smith in Santa Fe. Once I saw the old tools and big machines in his studio, and experienced first hand the range and depth of creative expression that was possible through forging, I knew that I wanted to pursue blacksmithing as a career.
Designing and building forged architectural metalwork was challenging to say the least, but it offered a creative outlet and an opportunity to produce a body of work that is a permanent record of my journey as a craftsperson. The skills and knowledge I achieved through hard work and determination were readily apparent in the pieces I produced. Because the scale of architectural work can be large, and you need to be able to forge, machine and fabricate, I began attending workshops and conferences hosted by local blacksmithing organizations, took blacksmithing classes at several craft schools, and poured over old books about blacksmithing to further my education. I also started collecting the tools necessary for such an operation - mostly antiques that I restored - and established my own shop in various spaces – an old turkey coop, an attached single car garage and a two-car detached garage in the first house I bought.
During this period, I came to realize the immensity of the breadth and width of the craft – not just as a methodology within the material world, but also as a historical tradition and a technology that spans borders and cultures. In 2001 I applied for and was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to conduct anthropological field research with Yoruba blacksmiths in Nigeria. I had been working toward my Master’s degree in Anthropology and this was a way for me to bridge my interest in Anthropology with my passion for blacksmithing. Once I began my fieldwork in Nigeria, it became apparent that the fundamental processes and language of forging truly cross national and cultural barriers. Being a practitioner of a craft that exists in so many different forms, all connected by a common methodological thread, and all under threat of marginalization and extinction from technological change and globalization, is a weight that I do not carry lightly. Not only do I feel driven to produce finely crafted work in an aesthetic sense, but also to carry on the knowledge, skill and traditions of such a noble craft, and to be able to pass these skills on to future generations.
Every time I lift my hammer, or turn on an antique machine in my studio, I am reminded that I am not the first person to have used those tools, and that there is a common thread of dedication and commitment to workmanship that runs through all of my tools and machines, connecting my work to the work of past smiths, machinists and fabricators. This has driven me to constantly strive for improvement, to pay homage to those that have come before and to reach my full potential as a craftsperson.
I now have a studio that is well equipped to forge, machine and fabricate, and I have developed skills and knowledge in each of those fields of metalwork. Throughout my career, I have also invested my time in learning design and taking the time to thoughtfully consider the details of a project resulting in work that is not only well crafted but artfully conceived. My work has always centered around the forging process and the myriad of possibilities it opens for forming steel. Teaching myself new techniques became a way of incorporating new designs into my work. Early on, a new commission meant I could explore a new technique that I had not used before. This layering of technique and knowledge continues in my work today and has been a continuous thread throughout my career. In 2014 I moved back to Santa Fe, where I grew up, and currently operate my studio there. I continue to work on architectural commissions, but have also been producing a line of finely crafted housewares, furniture pieces and the occasional sculpture.