17th South Magazine

Top Menu

  • Home
  • About US
    • Our Mission
    • Meet The Team
  • All Articles
  • Contact Us
  • Past Issues
  • Pick Up A Copy
  • Read The Current Issue Online

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Latest
  • Culture
  • Indulge
  • Happening
  • Living
  • Cover Story
  • Home
  • About US
    • Our Mission
    • Meet The Team
  • All Articles
  • Contact Us
  • Past Issues
  • Pick Up A Copy
  • Read The Current Issue Online

logo

Header Banner

17th South Magazine

  • Home
  • Latest
    • Artistic Acquisition

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • WESTSIDE WARES

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • PCM Premieres

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • Burning Up

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • Edge of Tomorrow

      January 10, 2019
      0
    • The High Gets Higher

      January 10, 2019
      0
    • COMEBACK KID

      January 10, 2019
      0
    • DYNAMIC DESIGN

      November 1, 2018
      0
    • European Experience

      November 1, 2018
      0
  • Culture
    • The Voice of Atlanta Radio

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • Put a Sock on It

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • Happy to Be Here

      January 10, 2019
      0
    • Coming Up Roses

      January 10, 2019
      0
    • Going Green

      November 1, 2018
      0
    • Stompin’ on the Westside

      November 1, 2018
      0
    • PAINTING THE TOWN

      September 27, 2018
      0
    • EAT WITH YOUR EARS FIRST

      September 27, 2018
      0
    • Atlanta-based designer Megan Huntz

      Fashion, Forward

      August 23, 2018
      0
  • Indulge
    • A Modern Classic Menu

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • Drinks on Demand

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • Family Affairs

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • Food News - March / April 2019

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • A SEASONAL BITE

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • Happening Hood Hangout

      January 10, 2019
      0
    • How Sweet It Is!

      January 10, 2019
      0
    • Cozy Up, Drink Up

      January 10, 2019
      0
    • Food News - JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2019

      January 10, 2019
      0
  • Happening
    • ATLANTA ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • THE GREAT RACE

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • FASHION FORWARD

      January 10, 2019
      0
    • LE JARDIN FRANÇAIS WINTER FLORAL DESIGN CLASS

      January 10, 2019
      0
    • 2019 ATLANTA BIENNIAL

      January 10, 2019
      0
    • VIRGINIA-HIGHLAND TOUR OF HOMES

      November 1, 2018
      0
    • YOUR BEST LIFE

      November 1, 2018
      0
    • MOSCOW BALLET’S GREAT RUSSIAN NUTCRACKER - DOVE OF PEACE TOUR!

      November 1, 2018
      0
    • BOO AT THE ZOO

      September 27, 2018
      0
  • Living
    • Minnesota's Shopping Mecca

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • Treasured Acquisition

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • Preserving the Past

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • Cajun Country Culinary

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • Spring Forward

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • West Highlands Retreat

      January 10, 2019
      0
    • Highly Addictive Beauty

      January 10, 2019
      0
    • A Dose of the Ocean

      January 10, 2019
      0
    • A Gangbuster Alabama Getaway

      January 10, 2019
      0
  • Cover Story
    • BOOZY BLASTOFFS

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • BRUNCH BUCKET LIST

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • CREAM OF THE CROP

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • GET CRACKING

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • GLOBAL BEGINNINGS

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • LAST THINGS FIRST

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • RISE & SHINE …

      February 21, 2019
      0
    • Matt Gryder and Matthew Fishman

      January 10, 2019
      0
    • Antonio Brown

      January 10, 2019
      0
  • BOOZY BLASTOFFS

  • BRUNCH BUCKET LIST

  • GET CRACKING

  • CREAM OF THE CROP

  • GLOBAL BEGINNINGS

  • LAST THINGS FIRST

  • RISE & SHINE …

CreatorsCulture
Home›Culture›Creators›METAL AS MEDIUM

METAL AS MEDIUM

By 17thSouth
February 23, 2017
7229
0
Share:

How one man’s love for metal has inspired Atlantans to take up smithing…

Dating all the way back to the Iron Age, forging metal has long been an integral part of human history. The act of heating certain metals until they are pliable enough to manipulate has allowed for the development of tools and weapons, which in turn sparked innovation and advancement.

Forging metal is hard, physical work and requires a lot of strength and effort to master. “It’s way more fun than the gym,” says Jessica Collins, who runs Goat n Hammer blacksmithing at the Goat Farm Arts Center in West Midtown alongside business partner Mark J. Hopper, a blacksmith of 25 years. The space is a veritable metalwork paradise, with anvils set up in a semicircle around the room. Quotes are scribbled on the walls alongside hanging tools and project sketches. A train occasionally rolls past on the tracks outside, the rumbling barely audible over the din of hammers hitting hot metal.

Originally from Lidshendam, Holland, Hopper comes from a family of makers. His grandfather was a cabinet maker and painter, and he started making knives with his father when he was only 8 years old. After graduating from college, Hopper went on to work at a shop in Kent, England, before moving to Kenya, where he taught smithing for a few years. Hopper met and fell in love with his now wife Esther, a native Kenyan, and when she relocated to Atlanta to attend Kennesaw State University, he tagged along and opened his shop at the Goat Farm.

It was four years ago that Hopper first approached Collins seeking help to implement classes during a Mass Collective event, of which she is a founding board member. Collins is a ceramic artist and also helps to run the Warhorse cafe at the Goat Farm. The two paired up and started offering classes. The new program was a hit, and it quickly grew in popularity.

Collins also runs Machine Room Pottery, her personal pottery brand, out of the shop. She found striking similarities between working in both clay and metal, which she refers to as “plastic mediums.” “They move the same way,” she explains. Before long, and under Hopper’s tutelage, she became an amateur smith herself, and the two now act as TAs for one another in class and partners in business.

Students have the opportunity to learn a wide variety of techniques that they then can incorporate into making products. There are introductory classes; 100- to 400-level Foundational Skills Series that aim to train smiths in the understanding of techniques, vocabulary and precision in material use through repetition; more advanced module classes; and open studio sessions, called Hammer Therapy, in which students can work on their own projects. The classes are designed to “teach students the skills in a hands-on format,” says Hopper, and once they’ve got an understanding of the basics of blacksmithing, “they can pretty much make anything.” Skills students learn in their courses at Goat n Hammer can be translated into creating products like knives, blades, bottle openers and tongs.

Many who sign up work in computer-dominated fields, and they crave the outlet that working with metal provides. “They need something visceral, something real,” Collins explains. By physically manipulating metal, a material that at first seems totally unyielding, and in working with their hands, students can learn something new and also find an outlet for anger and stress. “I think people crave it.”

Goat n Hammer
1200 Foster St., Building 8,
Studio LMR 10, 30318
goatnhammer.com

STORY AND PHOTO: Isadora Pennington

Tagsblack smithing courses at Goat n Hammerblacksmithbusiness partner Mark J. Hopperforging metalGoat Farm Arts Center in West MidtownGoat n Hammer blacksmithingJessica CollinsMachine Room PotteryMass Collective eventMETAL AS MEDIUMone man’s love for metalSTORY AND PHOTO: Isadora Penningtonunderstanding of the basics of blacksmithingWarhorse cafe at the Goat Farm
Previous Article

NEW LEVELS OF FUN

Next Article

STENCILS & DECALS

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Related articles More from author

  • CultureHeadlinersJULY / AUGUST 2018

    Girls’ Club

    June 28, 2018
    By 17thSouth
  • Atlanta-based designer Megan Huntz
    CreatorsCultureSEPTEMBER 2018

    Fashion, Forward

    August 23, 2018
    By 17thSouth
  • CreatorsCulture

    From Streetscapes To Gallery Walls

    April 26, 2018
    By 17thSouth
  • Joe Alterman
    CultureHeadlinersSEPTEMBER 2018

    Home- Grown Jazz

    August 23, 2018
    By 17thSouth
  • CultureHeadliners

    New Direction

    July 21, 2016
    By 17thSouth
  • CreatorsCulture

    Coming Up Roses

    January 10, 2019
    By 17thSouth

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You may also be interested in...

  • IndulgeReview

    GRILL FACTOR

  • EventsHappeningNOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2017

    BOUTIQUE DE NOEL

  • HappeningJULY / AUGUST 2018What's Going On Around Town

    PARTY ARTY

Visit Our Sister Publication

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Sign up to receive email updates and to hear what's going on with our magazine!

Follow us

Instagram @17thSouth

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No feed found.

Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to create a feed.

Find us on Facebook

logo

17th South:
In the heart of Atlanta,17th South magazine reaches active, exploration-minded residents ages 24-65 who want to experience the best the area has to offer, through stories and features on individuals and businesses they can relate to in their direct communities. We feature of-the-moment and hidden gem restaurants, beautiful private homes, philanthropy, arts and cultural offerings, and the trendsetters and tastemakers who are making it happen!
Valuestream Media Group
simply-buckhead-magazine
17th-south-magazine

Contact Us

  • P.O. Box 11633, Atlanta, GA 30355
  • 404.538.9895
  • advertising@17thsouth.com

Find us on Facebook

Follow us

17th South Instagram

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No feed found.

Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to create a feed.

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Pick Up A Copy
© Copyright 17th South. All rights reserved.