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MARIA CRISTALLI
Maria Cristalli is a WA state blacksmith. ”Working at the forge inspires me. I love the material, the process and the experimentation that can be done with fire, hammer and anvil. With each project I take on, years of experience are used to explore what else I can do with hot iron, always keeping craftsmanship, integrity and a graceful aesthetic as a primary intention.
I have been blacksmithing for about 30 years, having spent my developing years as an apprenticing with master smiths and taking classes. It takes a long time to become a good smith, and there is always more to explore! I design and forge architectural ironwork, home furnishings, ironwork for the garden, and sculpture.
Whether working alone or in collaboration with architects, designers and individuals, I always enjoy the challenge of expressing the client’s personal aesthetic, along with my own. I apply traditional hand-forging techniques, often expressing them in a modern aesthetic, to create a variety of functional and decorative items, including railings, gates, hardware, furnishings and other metal objects.
My work has been displayed in museums and galleries including the National Ornamental Metals Museum in Memphis, Tennessee and I’ve been featured on HGTV‘s program, Modern Masters”.
My work explores energy and the enduring myth of the blacksmith as an alchemist. Through the application of heat, force, and intention, I transform steel drawn from the earth. The material is both subject and collaborator. My process is rooted in material study while also engaging broader ideas of energy, transformation, and the natural world. By shaping steel into abstract forms that reference plant life, the earth, and the sun, the work reflects cycles of growth, pressure, and change, revealing the quiet vitality embedded within a seemingly inert material.