Forging Ahead

Local Blacksmith Keeps Traditional Arts Alive 

Written by EMILY KIMBELL

While some centuries-old art forms are in danger of being lost to modern technological advances, the ancient art of blacksmithing is alive and well thanks to artisans like Coweta’s Michael Sebacher.

Sebacher’s unconventional path to becoming a blacksmith took him through a variety of occupations, including work as a captain (USCG Master) of his own 40-foot sailing sloop, a truck driver, scuba instructor, fishing boat deckhand, migrant agricultural worker, staff management consultant, submarine nuclear power plant operator, motorcycle restoration technician, automotive body design engineer, defense contractor training consultant, nonprofit organization director, corporate management trainer and – perhaps thanks to this extensive background – work as a career counselor.

Sebacher's interest in metals originated while attending Nuclear Propulsion School during his service with the U.S. Navy. After obtaining an engineering bachelor’s degree and education master’s degree, he began a career in engineering with Ford Motor Company before relocating to Savannah to work at Gulfstream Aerospace.

After buying a house in one of Savannah's historic districts, Sebacher decided to install a wrought iron fence to match the aesthetic of the home. Upon researching how much it cost to have one made (a lot), he decided to make his own – and fell in love with blacksmithing.

“I had a background in engineering, steel and machinery, so it wasn’t all brand new,” he says. “But basically, I learned my trade by the school of screwing up.”

Sebacher took the leap in 2001 to leave Gulfstream and open his first metals studio in Savannah. He began creating custom furniture and headboard designs and became heavily involved in several of the city’s architectural ironwork restoration projects.

Now based near family in Sharpsburg, the blacksmith is dedicated to preserving the time-honored tradition of his craft.

“It’s all about history and heritage,” he says. “This craft is all a gift. I didn’t invent any of this. This is all knowledge handed down to us from those prior, people adding to the pool of knowledge and expanding on it. And as you get good at it, you add to that pool of knowledge and pass it on. It gives you a greater respect for those who came before as you realize the long heritage.”

This pool of knowledge has been growing ever since the ancient Iron Age when blacksmiths became a major part of the community.

“The blacksmith was always the one who made tools for the potter and the woodworker,” says Sebacher. “He made the chain and nail. You make everyone else’s tools. If the town has nothing else, it has a blacksmith.”

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, the high cost of tools required damaged tools to be repaired rather than discarded. This meant that blacksmiths were not only responsible for the creation of these tools but for all repairs as well. Essentially, no community could survive without a blacksmith.

The high-standing position of the blacksmith led to myths, heroes and deities dedicated to the tradesman as an air of mystery and secrecy surrounded the practice. Throughout the Middle Ages, many blacksmiths belonged to guilds that punished members for revealing trade secrets to nonmembers.

While Sebacher says that some working blacksmiths still hold to this tradition of secrecy, he believes the craft should be taught and shared. He fundamentally believes that humans are made to create: “People don’t realize that we are made to do this. We are physiologically constructed to make things with our hands.”

Educating the next generation about traditional crafts is essential in keeping the Arts alive, according to Sebacher. While blacksmithing nearly disappeared in the United States after the Great Depression due to industrialization, the art form saw a resurgence of interest in the 1970s; however, the industry remains relatively small. In 2012, there were between 5,000 and 10,000 blacksmiths in the U.S. with only 10% working professionally.

Sebacher is dedicated to passing down his knowledge to the next generation. He created the Artisans Heritage Guild, a local coalition of accomplished artisans dedicated to teaching others and starting a school of traditional arts. Currently, the guild consists of 28 artist-members teaching more than 14 disciplines of traditional art making. Sebacher teaches a blacksmithing class that covers topics like safety practices, blacksmithing tools and equipment, identifying steel and other basic skills.

“I love showing off my cuff,” says Sandy Hiser, who created a wrist cuff in one of Sebacher’s classes. “There is something incredibly satisfying about making and wearing your own unique creation rather than a mass-produced item.”

Teaching his trade and other traditional arts is Sebacher’s passion, and his future goal is to expand the Artisans Heritage Guild with a facility for a traditional arts school in Coweta County. Until then, the blacksmith continues to work on his trade by creating jewelry, furniture, gates, weaponry and other custom metal items. He encourages others to learn the traditional arts.  

“Although it takes a while, it’s not mind bendingly difficult,” he says. “It just takes repetition and practice.”

For those who don’t believe they can learn the craft, Sebacher has a quick response: “That is like saying a fish can’t swim. You are designed to do this. Of course you can!”  NCM

Sebacher created this geometric
room divider installed at Blue
Fern in downtown Newnan.
The mid-century design is the
result of a collaboration with
the store's owner, Lori Duncan.