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Featuring the work of: Caz Bently |
Lloyd Johnston Lloyd Johnston is a fifth generation blacksmith who at age 17 told his father he was never going to work where he got his hands dirty. He then pursued formal education in Engineering. Upon graduation he began a serious study of blacksmithing. The relentless pursuit of excellence and superior quality work has long been his goal. As a professional blacksmith of close to 40 years, the bulk of Lloyd’s work has been for historic sites and museums. Replicating artifacts or doing conservation and restoration work. Among the many commissions are the restoration of the Wellington Wall Gates on Parliament Hill, Ottawa in a gothic revival style and restoration of neoclassical gates at the entrance to the Rose Garden of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton, Ontario. Lloyd has had commissions all across Canada, in the USA and Europe. Lloyd continues to study ironwork and does commissions as well as teaching blacksmithing. As a hobby he is studying fiddle. " These two crosses are a physical representation of nearly 40 years of studying ironwork as an artistic medium. The inspiration comes from historic examples of iron crosses located in Europe and North America. The thoughts that flowed from the creative mind of an otherwise utilitarian craftsman combined with ideas from a client executed in a fog of depression and community support resulted in an art form seldom understood by the general population of today. The iron medium is born from dirt by much labour and goes back to dirt where it came from with no labour at all. Much human intervention is needed as the key to preservation of iron as an artistic medium."
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