Sculptural Works in Metal

By

Bud  and Shelly Swann

 

     A fireplace poker was how it all started for Bud Swann of Yanceyville, N.C.  He was a teenager when he made his first fireplace poker for his parents.  Due to repeated requests from his family and friends, Bud was soon making shovels, brooms, and then complete fire sets.  From that point, the 14 year old began  to learn a very old truth about fire and iron - one can change the other forever.  Becoming a blacksmith changed Bud's life.  His hobby grew into a business when he sparked Shelly's interest in 1988.

     Although Shelly was working full-time as a legal secretary, she enjoyed time learning Bud's hobby.  Bud taught Shelly the basics of blacksmithing and soon she too had completed her first fireplace poker.  Together, they worked part-time making traditional ironwork and selling at various art and craft shows.

     In 1991, when their son was born, Shelly left her secretarial job to become a stay-at-home mom, while pursuing the metalwork full-time.  She blended her garden hobby with her metalworking skills, incorporating copper into her new designs.  Shelly also took time to attend John C. Campbell Folk School and Penland to further her studies in metal sculpture.

     With Bud's excellent technical and mechanical abilities and Shelly's creativity, they have become a balanced production team.  Working under the business name of Swann Forge, Bud and Shelly share the tasks of making their production line, as well as create individual pieces of their own.

     Their production line includes hand-hammered copper ladybugs, dragonflies, caterpillars, butterflies, cardinals, and hummingbirds.  In addition to the birds and insects, their work includes copper sunflowers, daffodils, daylilies, ivy, ginkgo leaves, morning glories, zinnias, pansies, irises and hollyhocks.  Bud and Shelly also create a variety of traditional and contemporary wall hangings which include large sunbursts.  They also forge fireplace sets, trellises, gates and fences from steel and create wind bells from recycled oxygen cylinders.  Custom orders are also accepted as time permits.

     Bud and Shelly truly enjoy the challenges of creating something new out of an old piece of shapeless metal.  Their satisfaction is in knowing they are making one of a kind works of art that will surely be conversation pieces for many generations.