傳統鐵匠工藝的迴歸

Curt Welch and Charlie Perticari are regulars at a workshop located in a nature park near Washington.

Welch is making a rose. "This is a leaf that is going to be the end of a flower. And I am putting the veins in," he explains.

鐵匠柯特·韋爾奇要做一枝玫瑰。他正在打製一片葉子，還在上面做出葉筋。

Charlie Perticari is making a letter opener. "I have sold them. I have several in use in my own home. I like to give them away to people as gifts because it is very personal."

另一名鐵匠查理·珀蒂卡里正在做一把裁紙刀。把刀片鑲上，這把左手和右手都能用的裁紙刀就大功告成了。珀蒂卡里說：“我賣了一些。留下幾把自己用。這些東西都是個人作品，我喜歡把它們當作禮品送人。”

Both men are members of the Blacksmiths' Guild of the Potomac - a non-profit organization that teaches blacksmithing skills to a new generation. Blacksmiths traditionally made horseshoes and tools, but much of their work became obsolete a century ago with the advent of new technology and mass production. However, thanks to hobbyists like Welch and Perticari, the lost craft is having a resurgence.

珀蒂卡里和韋爾奇是這個工作坊的常客。工作坊設在華盛頓附近的一個自然公園裏。兩人都是“波多馬克鐵匠協會”的會員。這是一個非營利組織，宗旨是將鐵匠手藝傳給下一代。

"I immediately became fascinated with the artistic nature of the craft and all sorts of magic of working with metal," says Welch, a computer software engineer who joined the group two years ago.

柯特·韋爾奇本身是一名電腦軟件工程師。兩年前加入這個組織。他說：“我立刻就被這種工藝的藝術性以及用鐵能表現出來的各種神奇迷住了。”

The Guild, which began 30 years ago with 20 blacksmiths, has grown to 200 members. Most are hobbyists while some are artists.

30年前鐵匠協會成立時，只有20名會員，現在已經增長到200名會員了。大部分人把它當作一種業餘愛好，還有一些人本身是藝術家。邁克爾·布里斯金律師是協會會長。

"I think we have a strong future," says Michael Briskin, an attorney who is president of the guild. "There are a lot more guilds forming around the area so we are sort of competing for members against some other guilds. But certainly it is great for blacksmithing as a whole that we have a lot more guilds."

他說：“我覺得我們前途光明。這個地區有許多同業協會，所以我們要和其它一些協會爭奪會員。但是對鐵匠行業來說，多一些同業協會是件好事。”

One of those other guilds is The Mid Atlantic Smiths Association. The group recently held its 8th annual event in Cordova, Maryland. Featuring demonstrations by master blacksmiths, it drew about 150 people.

在這些同業協會中有一箇中大西洋鐵匠協會，在全世界有4千多名會員。這個組織最近在馬里蘭州克爾多瓦舉行了第八屆年會。年會主題是鐵匠大師的示範表演，吸引了大約150人到現場觀摩。

Pey Anderson, president of the Artist Blacksmiths' Association of North America (ABANA), was among them. He says ABANA has more than 4,000 members worldwide.

"The Internet, YouTube, Facebook, these social outlets are really helping fuel the organization and blacksmithing around the world and make it a lot easier for people to find the information, to get involved, to learn," says Anderson. "Thirty years ago it was very difficult to find a blacksmith."

北美藝術鐵匠聯合會會長培·安德森也出席了年會。他說：“互聯網、YouTube、臉書等社交網站幫了世界各地鐵匠行業和同業協會的大忙，人們要查找信息、參加活動、學習手藝，都容易多了。30年前，想找到一名鐵匠，很困難。”

According to Anderson, although some traditional work is still being done, blacksmithing is becoming something different from its utilitarian roots. "Now it is more of an artistic form, people doing sculptural work, architectural work, to accent homes and gardens and things like that."

安德森說，雖然有些傳統的工作還在做，但鐵匠手藝已經與過去那種實用目的不同了，“它現在更是一種藝術形式，人們利用它進行雕塑，用在建築上，爲住房和花園增添一些特色。”

Back in the Washington workshop, Charlie Perticari is finishing up his letter opener while Curt Welch puts the final touches on his rose.

在回頭看看華盛頓工作坊，查理·珀蒂卡里裁紙刀馬上就做好了。柯特·韋爾奇也正在爲他的玫瑰進行最後加工。

"Oh yes, it comes out nicely, oh yes," says Perticari, adding there is nothing like turning a piece of plain metal into an object of beauty - and knowing he did it with.

珀蒂卡里說，把一塊金屬加工成一件美麗的東西，而且是用自己的雙手完成的，還有什麼比這更讓人高興呢!