'Smith's art on display at library

If you listen carefully when look into the glass display cases at Sisters Library this month, you the may hear the sound of a hammer striking metal on an anvil.

Jeff Wester, owner and operator of Ponderosa Forge & Ironworks has displayed hand-crafted iron tools and art, produced by him and his crew.

His barn door handles are hammered iron masterpieces, as are his trivets, horse hardware, and many other usable farm and ranch objects.

Ponderosa Forge grew from a humble beginnings in 1981. Jeff had graduated from high school and moved to Bend, to take college vocational courses in welding and machining. He befriended a farrier who had a small shop east of Bend.

"We'd fire up the old coal forge, drink a few beers and do some blacksmithing, transforming horseshoes and pieces of steel into various useful objects," Jeff recalls.

Something in the ancient alchemy of hammer, fire and iron spoke to his soul. Eventually, he set up his own shop, which grew into one of Sisters signature manufacturing businesses (see related story, page 1).

Jeff is widely recognized as a craftsman and an artist. The spark that took more than 30 years ago burns more brightly than ever, forging a link to America's hand-made past.

"Each piece is heated in the forge and shaped under 125-year-old trip hammers" Jeff says, "formed by hand hammer and anvil, using tongs and hand tools. No assembly lines or mass production, no stampings or castings. Every piece is uniquely different, because they are formed one at a time.

"That's why I love to go to work every morning."

For more information visit www.ponderosaforge.com.