Local metal artist fosters a blacksmithing community through workshops

When Leslie Tharp began her career as a metal artist in 2009, the metalworking community in north central Florida was quite small.

“You really had to leave the state to go anywhere,” Tharp said in her studio, [Fe]ver Metal Art Center, last month. “I was going up to North Carolina and Maine, taking classes at craft schools in the summer, and then I was going home and collecting tools on my own.”

Over the last 15 years, however, Tharp has noticed significant growth in the community. Her workshops in Alachua County, held in her Gainesville studio, play a big role in that growth.

In the winter months, Tharp hosts classes that cover a range of metalworking techniques, from welding to blacksmithing to metal art.

In November, she taught a three-week course that introduced her students to the basic concepts of blacksmithing. The class provided an opportunity for people from all walks of life to share in the experience of learning one of the world’s oldest trades.

“I wanted to be able to learn how people used to do things 100 years ago,” said Heather Coyle, who is the mother of a University of Florida junior and one of Tharp’s students in this class. “And maybe one day I can make something beautiful or practical.”

Coyle, who had taken other trade classes like silversmithing in the past, highlighted that the class provided her with an escape from her office job in accounting.

“I want to do something that’s with my hands,” Coyle said. “Something that’s beyond a normal job where you’re sitting in the office and working on a computer. Just something that’s real and tangible.”

Steven Smith, on the other hand, said he saw the classes as an opportunity to gain skills that will help him in his day job. As a contractor who often works to repair farm equipment, Smith initially was looking into taking the welding classes Tharp offers. When he saw there was a blacksmithing course available too, he jumped at the opportunity.

“It’s amazing what you can do in such a short period of time,” Smith said. “In six hours, what you can learn is pretty incredible.”

Tharp’s classes also attract younger crowds, such as Luke Smith, an 18-year-old homeschooler. Smith’s first blacksmithing experience came nearly a decade ago, but he noticed that Tharp’s classes stood out from the rest.

“Most classes like this, it’s two days of just talking about it,” Smith said. “With this one, we had 10 minutes of talking about it and then we got right into it. It’s fast-paced.”

Tharp said giving her students access to a space that can have a very costly barrier to entry makes her feel gratified, especially when she sees those in her class fully engage with the trade that has given her so much.

“I have a passion for this, so I just love to offer anything that I can,” Tharp said. “But the biggest thing is to create more access into metal shops because it can be super hard for people to get into this field, whether it’s blacksmithing or welding. It’s neat to be able to provide that for folks.”

And it is safe to say that her students intend to carry over the lessons and skills learned within the walls of her shop.

“I’m already ordering stuff to do more blacksmithing work,” Steven Smith said. “I’m excited, it’s a very cool trade.”

Tharp’s next event will be an open house in her studio on Dec. 15.

She’ll then have classes running through mid-February. She will offer two more introductory blacksmithing courses this season, which will take place on Wednesday nights in January and February. The registration fee is $250.