iN PHOTOS: North Okanagan blacksmith creates 'one-of-a-kind' pieces of art

Patrick McIvor of Vernon is surrounded by the ringing sound of a hammer against metal, the heat of the fire in his forge and the smell of soot as he handcrafts his unique works of art. Not only is being a blacksmith a rare trade nowadays, but the objects McIvor creates are timeless and one-of-a-kind. With a whirlwind of creative ideas in his mind he uses his skills, nearly perfected through years of practice, and creates intricate designs for his customers at Dancing Scot Forge. “The biggest thing about blacksmithing is it's a craft," McIvor says. "It takes a while to get those skills down, but it's the artist vision, how well you can take that craft and take the insanity in your brain and twist it around to create something new and unusual.”  He wants to create heirlooms for his customers that will withstand the test of time, objects comparable to those built centuries ago that are looked up to by blacksmiths today. McIvor heats up metal in the forge, a specialized fireplace for a blacksmith, to ensure the metal malleable enough to morph and contort. Once red hot, McIvor starts to mold the metal to the shape he desires, though the metal cools down in about 45 seconds and needs to be reheated. Creating his art is tedious and time consuming as he needs to constantly repeat this process. Over the last 30 years as a professional blacksmith based out of Falkland, with his forge and heavy hammer, McIvor has created knives, jewelry, furniture, gates, movie props and pieces of show art. “If I build something for a home, like a fancy railing or something, if the place burns down, they could rebuild the house around what I made for them. I want that kind of quality for people, and I want that kind of design and uniqueness that you just can't buy off the shelf,” he says. READ MORE: iN PHOTOS: Penticton wood carver sparks joy with his art https://infotel.ca/newsitem/in-photos-penticton-wood-carver-sparks-joy-with-his-art/it107442 McIvor’s interest began when he was just eight years old and saw a television show explaining how to craft items from metal. Once in high school, he was able to make his dreams a reality and began to practice. “They were foolish enough to allow me to make sharp and shiny objects in school,” McIvor says. “So for the next couple of years, I was there and I proceeded to add a lot of grey hairs to my instructor's head.” McIvor learned almost everything he knows from the 300 books on blacksmithing he owns, as well as from his time in Europe studying ancient metal architecture. His blacksmith business is one of few in the Okanagan and also has apprentices under his wing learning from him to keep the skill alive. He also teaches blacksmithing classes at his studio. “It's quite amazing to feel that some of this stuff that I've made is going to be enjoyed for multiple generations,” McIor says. For more information about Dancing Scot Forge go here https://dancingscotforge.com/ . To contact a reporter for this story, email Bailey Zimmer mailto:bzimmer@infonews.ca  or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter . Find our Journalism Ethics policy here. http://infotel.ca/newsitem/code-of-ethics/it106782