Tom Joyce

Thought i would put up a post about Tom Joyce and the stuff i have been looking at today. There will be a few pictures but sadly they are from my own book so the pictures arent great. Stick with me.

Tom Joyce is a blacksmith working in a really secluded area of forging. He mainly does large scale pieces worked under the power hammer alot to either distort or shape the steel in a unique way. The piece above is a real prime example of his work, the steel is barely worked but it shows off the plastic like qualitys.

Why i find so much inspiration in his work is it is a toned down version of where i want to be. He doesnt cut the steel or bend it just solely works it under the hammer to build up texture and surface. I would love to work in the larger scale that he does but with the restrictions of the Massey at Holme lacy i can only work certain sizes. I am going to go as big as i can but i dont think i will get to the sizes he works in. Maybe something like the top picture but the one below is just a dream sadly for me.

What i really take away from his work is how he manuiplates the steel. He never goes too far with a piece under the hammer, it must have took years of refining but it really has it. In my book From Fire to Form there is around 30 pages of his work and each one tells a story of how he has refined his skills. Im no where near that point myself but i hope one day i can pocess that real skill of knowing when to stop and when to keep going.