CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Matt Wallace went to Italy to learn the technique of repousse from a master blacksmith. He left with a strong friendship akin to family, forged over the delicate work in the little shop in Bologna.
Matt's wife, Tessie, was a natural translator who learned Italian in college. She studied in Bologna in the fall of 1997, and walked past the shop on that visit. Little did she know it would become the center of her life on a visit in 2011.
In 2010, the couple traveled to Bologna to meet Pierluigi Prata in his Italian blacksmith shop. The "fabbro ferraio," or iron smith, and the Charleston couple became fast friends after the initial visit.
"He tested Matt," Tessie said, laughing. "For four hours they worked, and he kept watching him making a buttonhead scroll. He kept yelling, 'Go! Go!' as he was excited to see Matt's work." After that original visit, the Wallaces planned a longer trip in 2011 so Matt could work more with Pierluigi to learn the art of repousse.
Repoussé is a metalworking technique in which a malleable metal is ornamented or shaped by hammering from the reverse side to create a design in low relief. The repousse technique is used on thin metal and, in a sense, the artist is working backward.
"We are changing the surface of the metal," Matt said. "You need heat to bend thicker metal. You don't use heat in this method."
The Charleston couple said Pierluigi has a museum of sorts in the basement of his shop, as his grandfather had made copies of everything he made.
"His grandfather made him a tiny set of tools. He got his first hammer when he was 5," Tessie said.
Matt worked from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 to 6:30 or 7 p.m. every day. They stayed in an apartment, and Tessie would explore the city of 400,000 and shop for and prepare meals.
To help Matt, Tessie made a cheat sheet of terms that Matt could refer to when speaking with his Italian mentor. Some of the modern tools used were a drill press, chop saw and arc welder. But it was the timeworn, handmade tools that Matt and Pierluigi loved to use.
"I've learned from many blacksmiths, but this was the best ever, even with no common language," Matt said. "He was instructive, but not overbearing. He wanted me to do my own thing. He stressed that the hammer should be an extension of my arm."
Pierluigi learned his craft from his grandfather, Antonio Prata.
Born in 1896, Antonio began working as a blacksmith around age 8. The years passed, and in the early 20th century he came to work as a laborer at Bologna<co >, in the best wrought iron workshop in the city.
World War I broke out and he was "saved by his hammer," as he often said, as he worked in a small blacksmith shop forging shoes for horses, mules and donkeys. Following a minor injury, he was in a military hospital in Gorizia, and a priest came to bless the soldiers. They become friends, and the priest became Pope John the 23rd.
In 1927, Antonio's son Giancarlo was born and the shop moved to Vai Caldarese in the early 30s. In the wake of a national economic recovery, the city flourished.
Meanwhile, his son Giancarlo alternated apprenticing in his father's shop with training at the Royal School. Then, World War II breaks out, and the cellars of the shop become air-raid shelters, and the family is displaced to Prata Crevalcore, where Antonio continued to work as a blacksmith. He found scrap metal from destroyed military trucks to use in his work.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Matt Wallace went to Italy to learn the technique of repousse from a master blacksmith. He left with a strong friendship akin to family, forged over the delicate work in the little shop in Bologna.
Matt's wife, Tessie, was a natural translator who learned Italian in college. She studied in Bologna in the fall of 1997, and walked past the shop on that visit. Little did she know it would become the center of her life on a visit in 2011.
In 2010, the couple traveled to Bologna to meet Pierluigi Prata in his Italian blacksmith shop. The "fabbro ferraio," or iron smith, and the Charleston couple became fast friends after the initial visit.
"He tested Matt," Tessie said, laughing. "For four hours they worked, and he kept watching him making a buttonhead scroll. He kept yelling, 'Go! Go!' as he was excited to see Matt's work." After that original visit, the Wallaces planned a longer trip in 2011 so Matt could work more with Pierluigi to learn the art of repousse.
Repoussé is a metalworking technique in which a malleable metal is ornamented or shaped by hammering from the reverse side to create a design in low relief. The repousse technique is used on thin metal and, in a sense, the artist is working backward.
"We are changing the surface of the metal," Matt said. "You need heat to bend thicker metal. You don't use heat in this method."
The Charleston couple said Pierluigi has a museum of sorts in the basement of his shop, as his grandfather had made copies of everything he made.
"His grandfather made him a tiny set of tools. He got his first hammer when he was 5," Tessie said.
Matt worked from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 to 6:30 or 7 p.m. every day. They stayed in an apartment, and Tessie would explore the city of 400,000 and shop for and prepare meals.
To help Matt, Tessie made a cheat sheet of terms that Matt could refer to when speaking with his Italian mentor. Some of the modern tools used were a drill press, chop saw and arc welder. But it was the timeworn, handmade tools that Matt and Pierluigi loved to use.
"I've learned from many blacksmiths, but this was the best ever, even with no common language," Matt said. "He was instructive, but not overbearing. He wanted me to do my own thing. He stressed that the hammer should be an extension of my arm."
Pierluigi learned his craft from his grandfather, Antonio Prata.
Born in 1896, Antonio began working as a blacksmith around age 8. The years passed, and in the early 20th century he came to work as a laborer at Bologna<co >, in the best wrought iron workshop in the city.
World War I broke out and he was "saved by his hammer," as he often said, as he worked in a small blacksmith shop forging shoes for horses, mules and donkeys. Following a minor injury, he was in a military hospital in Gorizia, and a priest came to bless the soldiers. They become friends, and the priest became Pope John the 23rd.
In 1927, Antonio's son Giancarlo was born and the shop moved to Vai Caldarese in the early 30s. In the wake of a national economic recovery, the city flourished.
Meanwhile, his son Giancarlo alternated apprenticing in his father's shop with training at the Royal School. Then, World War II breaks out, and the cellars of the shop become air-raid shelters, and the family is displaced to Prata Crevalcore, where Antonio continued to work as a blacksmith. He found scrap metal from destroyed military trucks to use in his work.
Pierluigi was born in 1964, and he continues to run the shop in Bologna in the tradition of his elders. See the interview with Pierluigi, below.
Reach Sara Busse at sara.bu...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1249.
***
Here are excerpts from an interview (translated from Italian) with Pierluigi Prata of Bottega Prata in Bologna, Italy, conducted by Tessie Wallace.
Q: What is your first memory in the bottega?
A: My grand father opened the workshop in the '20s, after having worked in another workshop. He felt he needed to be independent and to develop his own ideas. When I first visited his workshop I must have been 5 or something. My mummy and granny used to bring me there, since my grandpa loved to see me - after all, I was his only grandson!
I was fascinated by my grandpa and I always wanted to copy him and be like him.
Q: Do you remember the first thing you made by yourself, without help?
A: The first object I made myself was a dog's head with his mouth open. I began working full time in the workshop after high school, when I was about 14 or 15. I kept studying but I came to the workshop almost every day. I learned more from my grandfather than from my father, since I spent more time with him. My grandfather was different from my father. He was very rigid, serious and brief in his explanation, while my father used more romance in describing how to make things (my father also used to paint). They had two very different personalities, and sometimes that was a source of contrast between them. In such cases, I acted as a go-between.
Q: Can you describe your grandfather's style as a blacksmith and your father's style?
A: My style and my father's style are heavily influenced by my grandfather. However, there are differences between us. My grandfather liked to leave the sign of hammering on his works, while my father used to make smooth surfaces. I am in between! But it also depends on my mood and the type of work I have to carry out.
Q: Do you know other Italian blacksmiths? In the U.S., there are blacksmithing conferences where we share information about tools, technique, etc.
A: There are other blacksmiths that I know, but there are just few of them around these days. In Italy, there is not a specific organization for blacksmiths: everybody looks after himself. There is a big organization of craftsmen in general, but it is not specific for a particular kind of craft such as blacksmithing.
Q: The bottega is in the historical center of Bologna ... How do you obtain your supplies, your steel? Is it true that your grandfather used a bicycle to carry supplies?
A: It is not easy to bring raw materials into this workshop. It is true that my grandfather used his bicycle to carry pieces of iron from the steel mill to his workshop. Today we use a small lorry to bring all the iron I need for my work, but only in small deliveries since the streets are so narrow.
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