Journals10
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I'm not dead yet
2 min read
It's been over four years since I've last published anything here on Deviantart. Sorry for not replying to any messages during this time. It's easy to leave things behind when pressing matters are at stake.
I've been a professional, self-employed metal artisan / blacksmith for two and half years now. I have fully concentrated on finding customers on local Finnish markets. Besides that I've worked on the sets of some theatre productions. Now, I'm hoping to expand abroad. This basically means I'm opening up my etsy shop and adding a good variety of cutlery and some other stuff there. I'll be adding those items here as well at the same pace I get them to etsy. Meanwhile I'll be dropping in some pictures of sculptures and stuff.
I've cleaned up my gallery and removed some pieces I felt were too awkward to keep and I might remove even more. My skills are much more refined now which especially shows on the spoons I make. You'll see.
Now a bit about these past few years that have been a hell of a ride. Stressful, intriguing and everything between. I put up a workshop with three friends, two of them eventually gave up and I moved to a smaller place with my remaining friend. I had an accident with my power hammer that cost me half of my right thumb. As nasty as this might sound, this occurrence kept me out of the game for only two and half months and I got used to my new thumb almost instantly. Trying to earn a living on this line of work has been the toughest part to chew.
Below is a timelapse video I made about spoons so this blog gets to be more than just some rambling.
Also, feel free to visit my Finnish website at www.jaakkorajala.com
There you'll get to see the stuff I've made before I manage to get them here.
I've been a professional, self-employed metal artisan / blacksmith for two and half years now. I have fully concentrated on finding customers on local Finnish markets. Besides that I've worked on the sets of some theatre productions. Now, I'm hoping to expand abroad. This basically means I'm opening up my etsy shop and adding a good variety of cutlery and some other stuff there. I'll be adding those items here as well at the same pace I get them to etsy. Meanwhile I'll be dropping in some pictures of sculptures and stuff.
I've cleaned up my gallery and removed some pieces I felt were too awkward to keep and I might remove even more. My skills are much more refined now which especially shows on the spoons I make. You'll see.
Now a bit about these past few years that have been a hell of a ride. Stressful, intriguing and everything between. I put up a workshop with three friends, two of them eventually gave up and I moved to a smaller place with my remaining friend. I had an accident with my power hammer that cost me half of my right thumb. As nasty as this might sound, this occurrence kept me out of the game for only two and half months and I got used to my new thumb almost instantly. Trying to earn a living on this line of work has been the toughest part to chew.
Below is a timelapse video I made about spoons so this blog gets to be more than just some rambling.
Also, feel free to visit my Finnish website at www.jaakkorajala.com
There you'll get to see the stuff I've made before I manage to get them here.
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Back Again
2 min read
Sorry everyone that I haven't replied to your messages. I've been away from DA since my last journal entry in the beginning of Summer. There are a few reasons that I'd like to bring out.
First of all, while working as a blacksmith on the Summer and having seen a lot of people drop by to ask the same questions over and over again I just haven't had the will or the energy to be more social more than is necessary. This means that being social in the Net was out of question.
I've also been damn busy. First in Summer because of blacksmithing and later in August because of two other jobs I got. Through a friend of mine I got a post-production work for a video commercial that was a nice break from frustrating work at the forge. While doing that I also got an offer from the workshop of The Swedish Theater in Turku. The contract lasted a month and was really pleasant time.
The final reason for keeping quiet is the frustration I felt as a blacksmith. I have my limits with how much I can stand crowds. Forging began to feel obnoxious with the same methods being used time and time again. I felt like a factory worker who is being watched and bothered by bypassers. Because of this I've been wondering what I really want to do in the future. Getting a forge of my own doesn't sound too nice at the moment but I must examine my motives better before deciding anything.
Meanwile I've been thinking of an art project that I'd like to do and get on display in a gallery. Different faces done with different methods. Some need forging like the faces on 'Where the Damned Lie' so I won't be abandoning blacksmithing as a whole. I have the first face ready and presenting it here is the reason why I'm writing this. Doing art is inspiring and when I'm inspired I have a lot more motivation to be social here as well.
First of all, while working as a blacksmith on the Summer and having seen a lot of people drop by to ask the same questions over and over again I just haven't had the will or the energy to be more social more than is necessary. This means that being social in the Net was out of question.
I've also been damn busy. First in Summer because of blacksmithing and later in August because of two other jobs I got. Through a friend of mine I got a post-production work for a video commercial that was a nice break from frustrating work at the forge. While doing that I also got an offer from the workshop of The Swedish Theater in Turku. The contract lasted a month and was really pleasant time.
The final reason for keeping quiet is the frustration I felt as a blacksmith. I have my limits with how much I can stand crowds. Forging began to feel obnoxious with the same methods being used time and time again. I felt like a factory worker who is being watched and bothered by bypassers. Because of this I've been wondering what I really want to do in the future. Getting a forge of my own doesn't sound too nice at the moment but I must examine my motives better before deciding anything.
Meanwile I've been thinking of an art project that I'd like to do and get on display in a gallery. Different faces done with different methods. Some need forging like the faces on 'Where the Damned Lie' so I won't be abandoning blacksmithing as a whole. I have the first face ready and presenting it here is the reason why I'm writing this. Doing art is inspiring and when I'm inspired I have a lot more motivation to be social here as well.
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School's Out
1 min read
Last saturday I finally graduated. Now I'm officially a metal artisan. On this summer I'll be every second week in Kustavi doing traditional forging and on the meantime I'll make more spoons for sale. This could become the best summer in long time.
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Mangoo music video now in youtube!
1 min read
Check it out!
Mangoo - Only Silver. Done with a small budget and a small crew but with full devotion. I'm responsible for the lighting and post-production so I'm basically to blame for the visual looks. It took quite some time to finish the video but I fell it was worth it.
Some still images:
rajala.deviantart.com/art/Mang…
rajala.deviantart.com/art/Mang…
rajala.deviantart.com/art/Mang…
(Can't get the pictures or embeding the video to work but I don't care.)
Mangoo - Only Silver. Done with a small budget and a small crew but with full devotion. I'm responsible for the lighting and post-production so I'm basically to blame for the visual looks. It took quite some time to finish the video but I fell it was worth it.
Some still images:
rajala.deviantart.com/art/Mang…
rajala.deviantart.com/art/Mang…
rajala.deviantart.com/art/Mang…
(Can't get the pictures or embeding the video to work but I don't care.)
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