Seattle Artist Teaches Metal-Forging on Molokai

Seattle-based blacksmith Lisa Geertsen teaching a metal-smithing workshop in Kala’e. Photo by Paula Scott

By Léo Azambuja

A Seattle-based blacksmith recently visited the island to meet local artists, talk about her journey and teach Hawaii Craftsmen’s ʻAha Hana Lima hands-on metalsmithing workshop in a private studio in Kalaʻe.

Guest artist Lisa Geertsen gathered a small crowd of about 20 people at the Molokai Arts Center in Hoʻolehua on the evening of Nov. 21 to share her creative and professional background, showed pictures of her work, and disclose details about the two-day workshop starting on the following day. 

“I wanted to try to design a workshop that was accessible to folks that might not have power hammers and big gas forges,” she said, adding Hawaii Craftsmen president Hugh Jenkins designed a couple gas forges that can be made by anyone. “And the anvils, you can find things to make an angle with.”

During the informal talk with local artisans, Geertsen focused on metal casting techniques, emphasizing the importance of precise measurements for different metals such as bronze and silver. 

“Bronze is different than silver and gold,” she said. “I have not played with gold yet, but I’ve learned the hard way with some other things.”

For the workshop, Geertsen chose to work with copper, because it was readily available at the local hardware store, and easy to heat it up to anneal it — getting it soft and quench it with water — so students could hold it with their hands.

some of the utensils produced during the workshop. Photo by Paula Scott

“You don’t have to hold hot metals with tools, except for quenching it,” Geertsen said of working with copper.

On the first day of the workshop, Nov. 22, Geertsen began teaching about “safety around fire and sharp things” and started the fun part with basic projects like hair picks and bangled bracelets. 

On the second day, after everybody was comfortable with “how the metal moves, because it’s important to feel how the metal moves,” she had her students work on forks, knives and spoons. They started with the spoon, “because spoons are cute,” she said.

After learning how to make a spoon and a fork, Geertsen said making a knife is “super easy.”

“Most of the lessons I like to do start with one technique, and then you add another technique in, and then you add another couple (techniques), so that you’ll see the progression of the shapes and how to make them into other shapes,” she said.

Eleven people signed up for the workshop, which was sponsored by Hawaii Craftsmen, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promote fine craftmanship in the Hawaiian Islands.

Geertsen had been to the Big Island before, but never to Molokai. She said she couldn’t believe when Jenkins approached her in April to offer a workshop on the island through MAC. 

“It’s beautiful. It’s very quiet and peaceful. Today we went down to the Wharf, so it was really lovely to see the mountain in the background,” she said.

Jenkins said since Geertsen was already going to be in the Islands, Hawaii Craftsmen “could get her to jump from Big Island to Molokai” easily rather than bringing an artist straight from the mainland at a higher cost. 

“I wanted to be able to show you all how to do some stuff, give you some techniques, and then you can go on and make beautiful things,” Geertsen said.

Geertsen is an artist blacksmith from Seattle, Wash., and the owner of Firelight Forge since 2007. She is an instructional technician in sculpture at the University of Washington. She earned a BFA in sculpture from West Virginia University in 1997, and an MFA in blacksmithing and metalsmithing from Southern Illinois University in 2023. 

Her work has been exhibited across the United States and Europe, including her largest solo exhibition in Olympia, Wash. in 2018, featuring 48 pieces from her “Hearts” series. 

Geertsen said she was grateful to the nonprofit organization Hawaii Craftsmen for inviting her to teach the workshop, and for Mark and Paula Scott for hosting her. 

“It’s fantastic. My dream is to travel and teach and make art. So, it’s happening,” Geertsen said.

Visit www.firelightforge.com, www.molokaiartscenter.org and www.hawaiicraftsmen.org for more information.