Creative Q&A with Patrick Garley

PALMER — Arctic Fires Bronze Sculptureworks owner Patrick Garley makes his living casting as a blacksmith and metal artist with works of art that can be seen at community sites across the state.

Garley recently participated in a question and answer interview to discuss his craft and the value of creative expression.

Q: So how would you describe what you do?“I do bronze casting, metal fabrication, and blacksmithing.”

Q: How long have you been doing that?“Full time, about 15 years.”

Q: How did you gravitate towards this particular path?“I was a residential contractor in New Mexico. I was 38 years old. I took a college class in sculpture and casting at Mesalands Community College. After that first class, I was hooked. That’s what I wanted to do… I was totally inspired by my art teacher… She’s been coming up to help me for 10 years and she’s still an inspiration.”

Q: So you two formed a good connection over the years?“Oh yeah. We’ve become great friends; and I used to go down and help her with her iron pours… It’s more of a social event than a straight art, technical experience. So you throw an iron pour, and people come from all over the country.”

Q: What’s so appealing about this particular field?“What I like about it is it’s elemental. Fire is one of the basic elements and using it as a tool… You hold all the energy in your hands and pour into molds and turn it into whatever you want… If someone walked into my shop from 3,000 years ago, they would go, ‘oh he’s casting bronze.’ The process is ancient. I think it’s second just to pottery.”

Q: Do you have a lot of fun doing this?“Well, it’s definitely fun. I have my own shop. I have a couple of helpers. We work on really interesting stuff most of the time… You put those things out in the community and heck, they could be out there in 50 years or a 100 years. My grandkids will definitely be able to see them and their grandkids might.”

Q: Where can we see your community projects?“Around here, in front of Redington [Junior Senior] High School, there’s Joe Redington and a sled team with seven dogs, life size. At the Sea Life Center in the center of the parking lot there’s a miner and a dog heading up the Iditarod Trail… I’ve done a steel truck over at the Palmer Museum of History and Art and I’ve done some aluminum, giant vegetables.”

Q: How do you feel about the fact your work is all over the state?“I feel great. It’s exciting… I make the Iditarod trophy every year. I redesigned it about 6,7 years ago and I’ve been making it every year since then. We’re getting a couple of those ready right now.”

Q: What kind of classes do you offer?“Like right now, we’re teaching blacksmithing classes. They’re being taught by a friend of mine in my shop… I tend to see my studio as a place where I do my art and I then help other artists. There’s people that do sculpture but they don’t have the skills or the experience to produce it. So, I can produce it for them. So, I like to see my place as a resource for other artists.”

Q: What’s your take on the Valley’s pool of creative talent?“I think it’s really good. I think we have a great pool of Valley artists. We’re kind of scared. We all kind of stick to our own little studio; but all you gotta do is look around a little bit. There’s potters. There’s painters. There’s all kinds of artists in the Valley and very, very good ones.”

Q: So you normally help out the Valley Arts Alliance with their Art on Fire event right?“The very first one, Carmen [Summerfield] came up with the idea. We did the first one and we’ve been doing it every year except this year.”

Q: So what usually happens there?“It started out as a festival for artists who use fire as a part of their medium. We expanded it. We have live music. We have painters and other things now too. We had circus performers for a while.”

Q: So you plan to come back to Art of Fire even bigger and better next year?“Oh yeah.”

Q: Would you say that your craft is a fairly creative endeavor?“Oh yeah. It’s definitely creative. That’s one of the things I like about art. There’s no rules.”

Q: How important is it for you to have a creative outlet like this?“Well, it’s my life now. This is what I do. I live 30 feet from my studio. I spend almost every day, all day in my studio. It’s what I do. We make art every day. If we’re not making our art, we’re making art for somebody else.”

Q: How would you encourage some to follow their creative voice?“Nowadays, there’s so many ways to sell art. The definition of art is so wide when you look at it… People need it and they pay for it. You just gotta figure out what you can do that will get you in front of somebody who’s willing to buy your art.”

Arctic Fires Sculptureworks is located at 15615 East Outer Springer Loop in Palmer. For more information, call 907-441-6728 or email arcticfires@gci.net.