Decorative and Sculptural Forgework- Artist-Blacksmith Brad Silberberg
“Ancestor Figure with Earrings” Forged and Stamped Steel with Rust Finish
Brad Silberberg is a world renown Blacksmith and metal artist, creating hand forged decorative and sculptural metalwork for over 25 years. His work has been featured Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, and The Anvil’s Ring magazines, on House and Garden TV (HGTV) and in books such as “Decorative and Sculptural Metalwork” by Donna Meilach, and “The Edge of the Anvil”, by Jack Andrews. His unique bowls, vessels, and sculptures have been included in juried exhibitions in the US and overseas and in the permanent collections of the Renwick Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, The National Ornamental Metal Museum, Memphis, TN, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA. He has taught his blacksmithing art all over American as well as in Canada, England, Scotland, Germany, The Netherlands, and Israel.
“I used to think that my artwork was a way to explore materials, tools, and techniques while learning new ways to make decorative objects. I have come to recognize that what I was really exploring was myself. When I look at my work now, I see the reflection of all of the joy and pain of my life and the struggle to understand that self as I mastered the tools and materials. I see glimmers of my ancestry and the shadows of my Soul’s history.
Sometimes as I sweated before fire and anvil, things would emerge in the darkness of black iron that I could not account for on the conscious level. When I was truly present and in the moment, the fire and metal would direct me as we co-created images that were a mystery to even me. As I came to understand my inner workings, my works of art began to make more sense to me. They mirrored the ancient cultures that I had likely lived in during other incarnations. They spoke aloud of my need to know where I had come from and who my ancestors had been. They revealed the darkness and confusion inside me that I had tried to lock away. They whispered to me about the real nature of my Being and dared me to look inside of myself. They gave me reasons to begin to let down the walls I had built to try to protect myself from the world outside.
When I turned my focus away from architectural commissions, I came face to face with many of my fears about myself and my relationship with the world. It almost stopped me from making things, but the fire and the metal taunted and teased and cried out to me not to give up. I began to learn about the sources of my painful thoughts and emotions and looked for ways to find peace inside of myself. This led me to explore healing on the level of my Spirit and to become a healer and teacher for others as well. The desire to heal myself made me look at why I created things in the first place and what internal forces would stop me from doing so.
Maybe through fire and the shaping of metal I had actually reshaped myself. At times I had fought and argued with them. At others, begged and pleaded with them. Sometimes I was even able to surrendered to their gentle nudging. My works of art became the mirror of my Being, and in the end, they helped steer me onto the road to a freedom from within.
It was from experiencing my own process of transformation that I recognized my need to bring people together in a creative community to rediscover and heal themselves through sharing their stories and making art. With this in mind, The Mesa Creative Art Center and The Mesa Healing Center were born in 2003 and continue to grow. Here I continue to experiment with and learn from metal and other materials and trade ideas with like-minded souls. I continue to engage in the discovery and recovery of a fragmented Self, growing and moving toward a better understanding and honoring of who and what I AM.”
Brad Silberberg
Forged Metal Art by Brad Silberberg
Sculpture, “Balance” Forged and stamped steel with cast glass.
"Time Table" Forged steel & brass with rust finish, glass top with light.
"Chopstick Fountain" Forged brass, iron, copper, beach stones, electric pump.
"Ancestor with Water Jar" Forged and stamped steel.
"Ancestor with Basket Weaves" Forged and stamped steel.
"Ancestor with Necklace" Forged and stamped steel.
"Vessel with Reptilian Top" Forged and stamped steel.
Sculpture, "Covenant" Forged and stamped steel.
"Vessel with Stamped Images" Forged, milled, & pressed steel.
Detail of table leg Forged and stamped steel with glass top.
"Container for Biblical Proportions" Forged and pressed steel.
Detail of Totem Sculpture “Fertility Goddess” Forged Steel with Brass
Detail of totem sculpture, "Defiance" Forged steel with rust finish.
Detail of Totem Sculpture “Catch of the Day” Forged Rusted Steel with Brass
Detail of Totem Sculpture “Centurion” Forged Rusted Steel with Brass
"Stele with Doric Column" Forged and stamped steel.
Detail of pot rack in pewter steel & darkened copper.
Sculpture, "Spinning Bell" Forged steel and brass.
"Consider the Possibilities" Screen: Rusted steel w/ brass .
Brad Silberberg is an artist and holistic healer who envisioned The Mesa Creative Arts Center and Mesa Healing Center as a place of awakening for art, healing, and spiritual expansion.
Mesa Creative Arts, Inc., 30 Miller Business Park Drive, Burgettstown, PA 15021 (724) 947-3097 brad@mesacreativearts.com
