Artist Blacksmith Francis Nowicki has been creating works in iron since 1983.
He had long dreamed of being a Blacksmith when, in 1979, he was blessed to be laid off from his job as a truck mechanic and took a class in blacksmithing at UW La Crosse. He took to this like a duck to water and was hired by his teacher. There he spent two years working on developing new patterns of damascus.
He moved to the Santa Fe area in 1983, where he began working full-time as a blacksmith for By Hammer & Hand, and opened his own shop in 1986: Works in Iron by Francis Nowicki. Since then he has created custom gates, railings, fire screens and tools, lighting fixtures, and many other architectural and sculptural pieces. His distinct style of flowing lines and organic shapes grace multitudes of houses in the Santa Fe area and across the country.
Artist Statement
“I love working with the owners to create something that works for the situation and place, adding a piece that enhances everything around it, taking an idea and expanding it to the next level. I make “house jewelry” that is functional.
What I enjoy most in the shop is the forging, shaping the hot metal. I learned a lot about how materials move in my years as a potter. Another apprenticeship I did was straightening bulldozer blades – at the factory, they come out of the heat treating process warped. I straightened 300-400 a night for about 4 months (it was easy – you just hit the high spots) and if you can make them straight you know how to bend them.
I work in iron and steel because I am a Blacksmith; I’m not a blacksmith because I work in iron and steel. I’d thought about being a Blacksmith for as long as I could remember. I wanted to work with metal. There’s no sound more satisfying than the thud of a hammer on hot iron.”
Francis Nowicki