A group of the Pacific Northwest’s top blacksmiths will get together in Metchosin this weekend to produce a piece of art for Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
Jake James will host the crew at his home workshop to collaborate on a nine-foot sculpture celebrating the Toronto skyline. Featuring the CN Tower, Rogers Centre and their reflection in the Great Lakes, the steel work will be a part of a full installation by James to be featured in the airport for five months.
The goal is to have the piece completed by the end of the weekend.
“It’s really good fun,” James said. “It’s a really good vibe. It’s like playing music by yourself or playing in a jam. Everything is better with at least one other person usually.”
The visiting blacksmiths are mainly from the Seattle area, along with a couple from the San Juan islands. The group banded together last year as the Contemporary Blacksmiths of the Pacific Northwest to help market their works and collaborate on projects for good causes.
Last year they collaborated on a gate to donate to a school in Washington State. There are plans to expand membership down into California and James hopes they can continue to get together on projects twice a year.
“You need that dynamic of a whole bunch of people around you, throwing ideas out,” James said, “just to shake it up a little bit, make things interesting.”