This past October, Gabriel Bell of Dragonfly Forge, had the distinct honor of attending Ford Hallam’s Immersive Iron Brush workshop. Mr. Hallam is the world’s foremost artist and authority of Japan’s ancient decorative metalworking tradition, kinko, having received top awards and recognition in Japan.
During the intensive four-week workshop, Gabriel was introduced firsthand into the techniques of line engraving, relief carving, true inlay and wire inlay, overlay (nunome), as well as tool-making, alloy composition, and patination. It was an enlightening and transformative experience for Gabriel, having found a wise and inspiring teacher in Mr. Hallam, as well as making great friends with other classmates.
Ford hopes to continue sharing his knowledge, experience, and passion of kinko to others. Towards this end, he began a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the production of the first volume of a series of 7 books that will present for the first time in any language, even Japanese, a comprehensive introduction to Japanese decorative metalwork techniques, materials and processes. This will be the seminal work on the subject and one that Ford hopes will be of use to craftspeople, collectors, academics and curators.