Forging Ahead

My name is Owen Hutchinson and I'm a metal-smith from Western North Carolina. I was born 1974 in Corrales, New Mexico. My parents, Garnett and David Hutchinson, made their living making pottery and ceramic art. With my mother and father working from home, a good deal of my time growing up was spent in their studio. I think my first and favorite toy as a kid was a wet lump of clay. As a kid I regularly traveled to craft shows with my parents where I was surrounded by art and craft of every stripe and color and learned firsthand the ins and outs of the craft world. Growing up in this rich artistic environment shaped me into what I like to call a "Maker". I can't go a day without making, fixing, or at least designing something… I sit up nights with my head just spinning with things I need to make. It was this desire to "Make" that drove me to study metals and blacksmithing. I realized that if I could make tools I could make anything. One of my first teachers (David Brewin) told me a great old saying…"By hammer and hand, do all arts stand". That saying sums up why I got started with metals. Of course, once I got started I was hooked. Metal just made sense to me, the way it moved, the forms it created, the feel of it in your hand. It was only later that I realized why working with metal had come so naturally to me… it was just like working with clay, you just apply the heat at a different point. Having discovered my natural artistic love, I began seeking ways to learn more. This led me to the beautiful Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, the John C. Campbell folk school and my long time teacher and friend David Brewin. I began work with David as a part time employee, scraping, grinding, and painting on afternoons and weekends and wound up a full partner in his shop Plum Orchard Forge. After nearly six years, and having safely seen David into retirement I rechristened the shop Black Turtle Metal Works and began my own adventure in the world of art, craft, and making ends meet.