About the Book
Winner, 2023 Alcuin Society Book Design Awards | First Place – Prose Illustrated
A stunning art book featuring twenty-four west coast artists and craftspeople who work in metal as their primary medium.
Out of the Fire: Metalworkers along the Salish Sea is a breathtaking celebration of a diverse group of contemporary artists and artisans, who explore the creative possibilities of an ancient medium. From sculptors to farriers, forgers to blacksmiths, jewellers to metalsmiths, and weapons makers to welders, the twenty-four people featured in this book reflect the wide range of talent, skill, and ingenuity that exists on Canada’s southwest coast.
Miran Elbakyan captures movement and whimsicality in his Surrealist-inspired sculptures. Nycki Samuels earned the moniker “Tough Tiny Welder” on the road to artistic freedom, as she fought her way through the male-dominated world of industrial metalwork. Ts’uts’umutl Luke Marston began making jewellery when he was still a teenager, honing the skills of his craft at the same time as he was learning about the imagery and oral narratives of the Coast Salish Peoples. Combining a love of technology, fashion, and the industrial arts, Bev Petow has the remarkable ability to transform cold, hard steel into delicate-looking dresses. With over one hundred spectacular colour and black-and-white photographs of the artists and their works, this book is a stunning behind-the-scenes look at those who choose fire as their tool and metal as their raw material.
About the Author(s)
Pirjo Raits is an award-winning, editor, journalist, and freelance writer, whose work has appeared in various publications and magazines. She has won numerous national and provincial newspaper awards for her stories and photographs. Raits was editor of the Sooke News Mirror for ten years, before retiring in 2015. Her bestselling book, Out of the Woods: Woodworkers along the Salish Sea was published in 2018, and Out of the Fire: Metalworkers along the Salish Sea is coming out in 2022.
Dale Roth and Michele Ramberg established Roth and Ramberg Photography in 1993. Since then, they have amassed an impressive roster of clients, specializing in portraits of people in their own environments. Their commercial clients include Bayer, BCIT, Bechtel, Bell, Calgary Zoo, Dupont, Enbridge, and Honda. In 2017, Roth and Ramberg were honoured by the Applied Arts Awards, in the Complete Calendar, Sports, and Portrait Photography categories.
Dale Roth and Michele Ramberg established Roth and Ramberg Photography in 1993. Since then, they have amassed an impressive roster of clients, specializing in portraits of people in their own environments. Their commercial clients include Bayer, BCIT, Bechtel, Bell, Calgary Zoo, Dupont, Enbridge, and Honda. In 2017, Roth and Ramberg were honoured by the Applied Arts Awards, in the Complete Calendar, Sports, and Portrait Photography categories.
Reviews
"Raits and her photographer colleagues have produced an enticing volume that celebrates a group of creators whose artistry reaches back to ancient times but delight us today."
—British Columbia Magazine
"Out of the Fire is filled with sumptuous photographs of exciting works of some of the most talented west coast metalsmiths. It is particularly fascinating to see inside their studios. This insight sets this book apart and creates more of a kinship between the reader and artist. I am impressed!"
—Donald A Stuart, CM, OOnt, RCA, gold/silversmith
“Metal and fire—the transformation of raw materials into unlimited universes. Out of the Fire is a very inspiring book that opens so many doors to our imagination. Stunning artworks that compile passion, dedication, perseverance, and hard work.”
—Claudio Pino, award-winning Master Jeweler
"If you ever wanted to know what a present-day metalsmith’s world is like, this is a good place to start. The reader is invited, through rich photography, into the workshops of twenty-four independent smiths working in southern British Columbia. Included are blacksmiths, jewellers, and even a musical instrument maker—all seduced, as we are while reading, by the fluidity of their chosen materials."
—Karen Cantine, internationally recognized metalsmith
“This fabulous book takes you into the metalsmith’s sacred creative space—their shop, their studio, their lair. The excellent photographs incite a desire to feel the heat, the grit, and the sweat, and to witness the focus of these makers in their flow. By choosing metal as a medium, the metalsmith shows fearlessness, determination, and indomitable spirit.”
—Brigitte Clavette, RCA metalsmith, silversmith and educator
