Blacksmiths forge public art

When the City of Sisters decided to include a fire pit in Fir Street Park, they might have known they were going to get a piece of public art in the bargain.

Jeff Wester and Alex Cretsinger of Ponderosa Forge have a reputation for getting creative with their work, and their current piece exceeded all expectations. The fire pit is a steel cauldron with a screen lid, which is designed to appear as though it is hanging by rope from a structure of wood. Except it's all steel.

"I started out with the design and Alex kind of went on other directions, too," Wester explained. "It was definitely a collaboration, and it evolved."

That evolution turned it into a major project.

The "wood" effect was created with a power hammer. The rope effect was created with super-heated steel - and a lot of patience.

"It's a very different technique tying knots at 2,500 degrees," Wester said.

Cretsinger had to tie square knots and clove hitches.

"You've got to tie 'em really loose and slowly tighten 'em up," he said. "It takes some patience, for sure."

Wester, who is a musician and songwriter in addition to his work as a blacksmith, created a story in his mind for how the "rope" suspending the cauldron broke and had to be tied off in a square knot.

"It's gotta be colorful!" he said.

The blacksmith appreciated the opportunity to take the work to a different level of artistry to go along with a timber-frame pavilion designed by Rory Petterson with help from Kris Calvin and tiles created by Kathy Deggendorfer and Kibak Tile.

"It's kind of neat that the City was open to doing something different and just allow people to be creative," he said.

The City is still working on crafting a policy protocol for public use of the fire pit, which is locked and will require permission and a key to use.

Public Works Coordinator Nicole Montalvo said the piece of public art will next be put to use during the tree lighting ceremony on Thanksgiving weekend.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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