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John Pia's Story

 
John studied basic design in Syracuse, NY at the community college while studying Architectural Technology. He then worked as an apprentice Smith at Renaissance Festivals during the mid to late 1980's. Prior to attending Community College he worked extensively in construction.
 
He returned to smithing in his back yard here in Indiana about a year and a half ago, and really just  started to sell again this year. His forge is made from of materials collected from the scrap yard and his forge blower is  from an old water heater vent pipe.
 
He has spent the long Indiana winter doing a little research, studying art on ancient coins and medieval to classical art in general. His is looking for some inspiration, and ideas about his craft and art, partly as a way in incorporate both in his work, and partly as developing technical abilities that will turn into artistic skills. John once said, "in case of a fire in his studio a craftsman will save his tools while an artist would save his work".

His goal is not to be a fabricator or do machinist type work. Rather, he prefers going with the flow of the materials with the tools at hand.

 
John is member of the Rural Smiths of Mid America (RSMA), having joined in January 2009. They are described as a bunch of nice guys that get together and talk shop once a month or so.