Preface

This manual demonstrates an approach to learning the art of raising holloware that is relatively simple and inexpensive to engage in. It offers the possibility of a finished vessel in a reasonable amount of time, even for novices. The techniques presented are fundamental to holloware creation and will serve as a foundation for those wishing to pursue the art form further.

What distinguishes this text is the use of a universal wooden tool (a 'stake' in smithing terms) that replaces the need for multiple and costly steel tools typically required in holloware studios. Plans for this easily made tool are provided within the text as well as detailed instructions and photographs giving a step by step course in smithing a basic piece of holloware.

This approach was inspired by a chapter in the Time Life Book Series The Emergence of Man: The Metalsmiths, which featured Kurt Matzdorf raising a silver bowl with only a bone and a tree limb. This led me to explore wood as a tooling material for holloware. In the process, I discovered Katalox, a strong and dense wood capable of withstanding repeated hammer blows.

The approach described is the outcome of work done over the past four plus years seeking a viable, minimalist route to hammer raised holloware. The parameters set were affordability, simplicity of design, and economy of time required to complete a piece.

From the outset, I kept detailed notes and photos documenting the process. These eventually evolved into this “studio manual,” which I hope will serve as a helpful guide for those interested in smithing holloware. Trying to simply encapsulate in words and photos what is a complicated process has proved challenging. Hopefully the reader will be able to make the leaps wherever the text leaves them hanging. My sincere apologies for any lack of clarity or completeness in the instruction.
Just as learning to play simple melodies is the first step toward mastering concertos, creating small, modest holloware pieces lays the groundwork for more complex works. Holloware creation is often seen as the most technically difficult of all the metal arts. While it is a long climb to the pinnacle of the art form there is plenty of room at the beginning of the climb for works of a more modest size and less burdened with the need for technical prowess and design complexity. The introduction of the aforementioned wooden tool eliminates the need for expensive steel stakes and the size of hollow form described in the text keeps both material and time expense at a minimum.

This manual assumes access to a basic metals studio and provides detailed, practical instructions without delving into historical context or design theory. It is further assumed that the reader is knowledgable in metal shop and studio practices or is working under a trained professional teaching classes in metal arts at high school or college level.

* The Emergence of Man: The Metalsmiths by Time Life Books and Percy Knauth. 1974