Orcas artist-blacksmith debuts new works featuring totemic sculptures, handcrafted masks

||| FROM B.J. ARNOLD for ORCAS ARTWORKS |||

Orcas Artworks is pleased to feature artist Steve Gropp during the month of December. The gallery is open daily from 10-4, closing January 1, 2025 for a brief winter break.

“I have been a full-time professional Artist Blacksmith here on Orcas since 1995. My work utilizes both contemporary metalworking tools and methods as well as traditional hot forging techniques in steel.

“Worked at temperatures over 2000 degrees the steel is in a soft malleable state and can be shaped into an almost infinite variety of forms using various hand and power-driven hammers and tools.

“The pieces on display are some recent explorations of totemic and ritual objects, forged from heavy bars and assembled using traditional mortise and tenon joints as well as cold bars driven through hot punched holes and locked in place as the metal cools and shrinks. They are designed as a tryptic, either indoors as a stand-alone sculpture or outdoors to mark a sacred or significant location.

 ‘The human portrait masks were carved from local hardwoods in the late 80s during the off seasons while
working on commercial fishing boats in SE Alaska. The inspiration for these pieces reflect various moods drawn forth by the darkness and cold of winter.”

Residing on Orcas since 1974, Steve Gropp has been a full-time professional artist blacksmith since 1995, specializing in contemporary and traditional forged steel works. Drawing inspiration from nature, mythology, and the Pacific Northwest, Steve creates sculptures, functional art, and ceremonial pieces that speak to the beauty and complexity of the human experience.

Steve Gropp Artist Blacksmith
360 421 1949
salamanderforge@gmail.com
www.salamanderforge.com