| DIY People: Horseshoe Nail Art |
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William Kuegel is a farrier, that is a blacksmith who shoes horses, and he's been shoeing horses since 1973. "Most people consider blacksmithing and horse shoeing as the same thing", William says, "and it's not at all. A blacksmith works with iron and at a forge. A farrier usually knows how to do that but a farrier is a specialist. A farrier shoes horses." But when asked about his trade, William prefers to describe himself as an artist who shoes horses. William creates fine, silver-plated jewelry from the same nails he uses to hold horseshoes onto horses. "Because I enjoy shoeing and I thought the nails were attractive it seemed like a logical step to move from using the nails for one thing to using them for something else", William says.
So he began to experiment and the results have been nothing short of beautiful. Using a few simple tools, his bare hands and his imagination, he creates an entirely different art form, one which he describes as "Equineart". William may be the only practitioner of a craft that utilizes nails as an art form. What he does is a combination of sculpting and metalwork. "Some of the work I consider sculpting, some I consider jewelry making and some are just hanging ornaments." William shapes his creations by cutting or bending horseshoe nails. This is usually done with a pair of pliers and his bare hands, something that William has discovered that not everyone can do. "When I first got started", William explains, "I thought I'd enlist the help of my family in bending the nails." He smiles and shakes his head. "That didn't work." Perhaps all those years of shoeing horses have given William more hand strength than he realizes. He quickly found that when there was any nail bending to be done...he would have to do it himself. William uses surprisingly few tools when constructing his artwork. Mostly pliers and various sizes of needle and round nose pliers as well as a pair of cutting pliers. He also employs a jeweler's torch and flux for welding, and a large flat stone is his work surface. The nails themselves come in different sizes; for his demonstration William used a #5 size horseshoe nail. William's first step in making one of his creations is to envision what the final piece will look like. Then he sets about bending and shaping the nails to create the various elements that will be welded together. The piece he creates is then plated in sterling silver.
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