Caleb Kullman

January 18, 19, 20 - Sahuaro Ranch

For the three day class I would like to focus on innovating with joinery. Using the topics covered in the demo as a foundation, I would like to spend the class time developing new approaches to old methods of joinery. We will cover 5 different joinery techniques over the three day class. I plan to spend a full day on mortise and tenon joints and a half day on each of the following topics: wedge joinery, collars, forge welding, and rivets. We will build small items such as fireplace tools, door and cabinet pulls, and architectural elements using these different techniques. I will give the students general design parameters and let them fill in details to incorporate some design practice into the class.

Caleb Kullman

Kullman Ironworks

 I was first exposed to blacksmithing while in college. An art student had set up a primitive forging station behind the art building and I stopped in one day after hearing the sound of the hammer and anvil. He let me have a go with the hammer and I ruined a perfectly good piece of steel – but my interest was sparked. After graduation, having realized that a BA in anthropology was not particularly marketable, I decided to pursue my interest in blacksmithing and attended horseshoeing school in Tucumcari, NM. At the time, I really didn’t think that horseshoeing or blacksmithing would be a long term career choice for me but I was curious nonetheless. I enjoyed learning the craft of farriery and liked working with horses. What I really enjoyed, however, was forging – making horseshoes and other things from steel. After finishing the four-month-long horseshoeing program, I began apprenticing with a farrier and family friend in Santa Fe, NM, where I had grown up. At his recommendation, I attended Frank Turley’s basic blacksmithing class in the spring of 1994.  As part of the class, Frank routinely took his students out to visit the studio of Tom Joyce. When I saw Tom’s beautiful work and meticulously organized studio, I knew that I wanted to pursue blacksmithing more seriously. Seeing a long road ahead, I moved to Fort Collins, CO in the fall of 1994 to begin a horseshoeing practice. Horseshoeing allowed me to earn a living with plenty of free time to practice my forging technique, take on small commissions, and travel to work with other blacksmiths. I made two or three trips per year to Santa Fe to work with Tom during the period 1995-2002. I also became a member of the Rocky Mountain Smiths, attended workshops and conferences, and took classes at craft schools such as Peters Valley Craft Education Center, Penland School of Crafts and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.

I decided to go back to school in the late 90’s to pursue a Master’s Degree in anthropology. The need to conduct field research and the desire to combine my professional career and academic background led me to apply for and receive a Fulbright Scholarship to travel to Nigeria in 2002. I spent eight months there, working with Yoruba blacksmiths, studying traditional Yoruba forging techniques, religion, and culture. Upon returning to the US, I decided not to continue shoeing horses and committed to blacksmithing full-time, pursuing commission work from my shop in Fort Collins.

In 2004 my wife Rachel and I were married. We decided to leave the crowds of the Front Range behind and moved to the Western Slope of Colorado in March of 2006. We settled in Montrose, where I operate my shop in a 2500 sq. ft. building in the downtown area. I primarily service the Telluride area, but I also work in Santa Fe, Aspen, Breckenridge, Vail, and other resort communities.

I use traditional blacksmithing techniques because they allow me to produce a wide variety of work. I attempt to be true to the traditional methods while not being bound by traditional designs and motifs.  The primary source of ornamentation in my work stems from the methods used to join elements together and my designs are fundamentally tied to the production processes of mortise and tenon joinery, collars, punched holes and rivets.