"Blacksmithing has all of these romantic qualities about it, " says Susan Hutchinson, a blacksmith who often teaches at the John C. Campbell Folk School near Murphy, North Carolina. "The heat, the dirt, the noise, the physical nature of it -- some people love and others never get used to it." Susan was teaching beginners how to forge a hook when we visited her. "Hooks teach most of the basic skills used in smithing. By the end of the first day, all of the people here will have successfully made one." It's a skill that almost completely died-off in the United States; however, more and more people are being drawn to smithing as a hobby. "It's such a gift," explains Susan, "to watch people go through the metamorphism from not knowing they could bend steel to being Superman." After trying many crafts, Susan discovered blacksmithing and found it had all the right properties. "It's immediate. I can hit something and know right away what I have," Susan says. "And, that's really special, with pottery, I had to wait. With wood I kept cutting it short. Fabric and jewelry, well I had a real problem sitting still, however, steel's just right." Most people are drawn to blacksmithing classes by memories of a blacksmith shop, Susan says. "They come here because there is some faint images from the past. Something long ago strikes a cord with them. They discover that smithing doesn't take strength, just skill -- and that can be learned. Probably the most important skill to learn in a craft like smithing is perseverance," Susan says. "Staying with it until you've got the thing done." "The most common question people ask me is about strength, says the petite instructor with a smile. No, I have average strength."
| 
)
)
)
