During my vacation, on my way From Niagara Falls to Boston a couple of
weeks ago, I visited the studio of well known black smith, metal smith
and sculptor Albert Paley.

For those of you who do not know of Albert Paley, take a look at his web
site at http://www.albertpaley.com/

One of his most famous pieces is the "Portal Gates" out of forged and
fabricated steel, brass, bronze, and copper. These gates are at the
Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC. (http://tinyurl.com/2rnxzk)

In my opinion, with these gates and other work Albert Paley has been
singlehandedly responsible for a huge revival in the ancient art of
blacksmithing in the US.

The visit to the studio was awesome. I had given the business manager
David, very short notice, with my request to visit the studio (just a
few hours), yet he was very generous with his time, and showed me, my
wife and my two sons all around the studio. Mr.Paley also took a few
moments to chat with us. We could tell he was very busy. His "to do
list" in the office was impressive. Top of the list: "Complete
installation of gates in National Cathedral"

We were very lucky as far as the timing was concerned, because there was
a large amount of work in the studio, since they were getting work ready
for a large show. The most interesting part of the tour for me, was
seeing Paley's process. And a full scale working model in steel of the
above mentioned, just installed gate at the National Cathedral in
Washington DC (http://tinyurl.com/2shc8n).

I have a feeling, that if any person interested in metal work, as the
members of this news group are, would request a tour, they would again
be willing to do this.

Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com