Town & Country

C M Y K If you want to see a traditional blacksmith in action — pounding red- hot steel into intricate tools or artistic décor — you don't have to travel back in time. Just head about 25 kilometres north from Winnipeg. T here you'll find Matt Jenkins and Karen "Rudy" Rudolph, who are "smiths" and co- owners of Cloverdale Forge. Based at the farm where Matt grew up, in the tiny community of Cloverdale, the husband-and-wife team design and create custom pieces — anything from decorative gates and benches to hinges, hooks and house numbers — or whatever a client can dream up. They also sell pre- made grilling forks, bottle openers, belt buckles and more at craft sales and on their Etsy page. Making a go of a blacksmithing busi- ness hasn't been easy, but lately the pair has been busy designing not just for individual clients but also for architec- tural firms and interior designers. Their work can be seen in The Common at the Forks and in the new Nonsuch Gallery at the Manitoba Museum (look for the authentic-looking Hudson's Bay Com- pany trade axes). They also just wrapped up a spring series of sold-out classes and workshops where they teach budding smiths to use the tools of the trade in the farm's former open-air hay shed. Jenkins and Rudolph met when they both were part of a work exchange at the John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina, where people come from all over the world to learn and teach skills like basketry, cooking, jewelry making, woodwork- ing – and blacksmithing. "Think of a year-round summer camp for adults," says Rudolph, who grew up in Indiana and then lived all over the southern U.S. She became interested in blacksmithing while in college, where she would often visit good friends who had a forge in their yard – a small hearth for heating metals in fire to a high tem- perature where it could then be pounded and shaped, or forged, into whatever the blacksmith desires. "I made a hook one day and it was just the coolest thing ever. After that, they would show up and I would just be there, hammering away!" she recalls. Jenkins came into it less by chance, and more by blood. His father, Tom, worked as the resident blacksmith at Lower Fort Garry starting the year Matt was born, teaching himself the skill using the old forge on their farm. Matt followed in his dad's footsteps at age 18 to help pay for his engineering degree, forging away in the old stone Fort's blacksmith shop for eight seasons. His dad helped him learn the tools and techniques of blacksmithing in the 1850s era – to a point. "He let me struggle for a bit and would swoop in every once in a while," Jenkins says. "He would say, 'Hey, maybe you should use this tool instead'… I was like 'Oh, we have this tool? I always wondered what that did!' " After Tom passed away in 2004, Matt continued on with the traditional art. By now, he and Rudolph were friends, but it wasn't until 2013 that they wed down in Georgia — then flipped a coin to decide where they would live. "I won, or lost, depend- ing on how cold it is outside!" Rudolph laughs. They decided to make a go of it with Cloverdale Forge in 2016, blending tra- ditional tools and methods with modern ways, such as creating computerized 3D renderings to help clients visualize a design. "It was always the dream to make a living doing blacksmithing. When Rudy finally moved up here, it seemed like a good time to make the jump," Jenkins says. "It was definitely a risk." The biggest hurdle has been educating the public on how what they do differs from welding, and how much time and skill is involved in creating each piece. The pair has gained notoriety by doing live forging demonstrations and selling their wares at Nuit Blanche, the Winnipeg Folk Festival and the Holiday Alley winter street festival in Selkirk. On Aug. 17, you'll find them at the makers' market at Lower Fort Garry's Harvest Festival. Jenkins and Rudolph have been work- ing on upgrading their teaching studio and have also designed a patent-pending, lightweight, affordable "flat pack forge," a unique slot-and-tab constructed forge that is featured in their forge-building workshop. Keeping the tradition of blacksmith- ing alive is a privilege they are happy to continue sharing. "To be able to take that material, which is so ubiquitous and hard and cold, and make it warm and soft, and dif- ferent from what the expectation of iron is, is a really fun challenge," Jenkins says. 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Call 204-943-6622 or 1-800-378-6699 or visit us online at alzheimer.mb.ca If you or someone you know has Alzheimer's disease or another demen a, visit alzheimer.mb.ca or call 204-943-6622 for help. You are not alone. We are here to help. alone. MAKING SPARKS FLY Blacksmiths forge a business bending hot metal into art PHOTOS BY DARCY FINLEY BY SHERRY KANIUGA

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