Ivan Bailey Hand Forged Custom Art Metal

The most satisfying aspect of my work is to share the creative experience directly with my clients. They come with a need and often with a concept which I develop with them in such a manner that their involvement in the process is real , direct , and satisfying. It makes me very happy to help them  participate in the design and watch it become reality for them. Their sense of ownership then goes far beyond that which comes from writing a check.

2007 marked the thirtieth-fourth year since I opened Bailey’s Forge  in Savannah. This anniversary led to a recounting of the factors , choices and experiences  which shaped the path of my creative journey.

Before beginning school I watched my mother paint pictures and do shallow reliefs on thin copper sheet with a wooden stylus. Both she, and the nuns in grammar school , encouraged my efforts in art; and in the fifth grade I chose Saturday  art classes at the Portland Art Museum over music lessons.

In high school my attention turned to photography until I took an art course in senior year during which  I learned italic calligraphy ( which teaches the flow of line and brings an awareness of negative and positive spaces) and mosaic.

After high school I entered the Christian Brothers as a novice and was also  encouraged there to pursue many different kinds of art. I made a number of mosaics for the community and was directed after two  years to go to art school. During the time with the brothers I learned visualization and how to use it as a design tool.

At Portland State University I chose to concentrate on jewelry and metalsmithing , paying much of my way through from commissions to make wedding rings and such. I was learning to run a small business even at that time.

I pursued further training at U. of Georgia where I got hooked on blacksmithing in 1970 with Alex W. Bealer (The Art of Blacksmithing) as my mentor. After receiving my master’s degree in 1970 I was granted a fellowship by the German Academic Exchange to study  art blacksmithing in Aachen Germany under Prof. Frits Ulrich.

The sense of service to the needs of others was instilled in me by all three, the brothers, Alex, and Fritz. They prompted me to eschew assuming the role of artist as spoiled brat which had been, if not encouraged, at least not discouraged by the American art school philosophy.

In his book on blacksmithing Alex Bealer described the historical position of the smith as one who helped everyone by making their tools, keeping them moving on road, rail , and sea and sometimes making their dreams into reality with iron pieces of great beauty.

Frits Ulrich, the practical and visionary German smith knew that all his students would go to work in family shops , or establish their own studios making things for private clients. One day I asked him to advise me . I explained that I was headed for a conservative city and that I would go broke if I did the kind of work coming out of his school which was very popular with the Germans. His advice was to find something I could do which used the tools and techniques I preferred and which the clients could understand. I don’t believe any motifs are inherently mundane as long as the craftsman can put soul into each thing he makes.