Forging Animal heads
Forging Animal Heads
Explore the art of sculptural blacksmithing in this specialist course focused on forging expressive animal heads in steel.
Taught by Alex Sowden, award-winning artist blacksmith and renowned for his striking dragon work, this course introduces the key techniques of forging and firewelding as you bring your own figurehead to life.
While Alex is best known for dragons, you’re welcome to create a wide range of animals — from deer and bison to dogs, cats, elephants, horses, and more.
This course is not intended for complete beginners. The amount you can achieve in a day will depend on both your experience and the level of detail you aim for. Simpler forms (such as rams, dogs, or cats) often leave time to incorporate your piece into a functional item like a coat hook, door handle, or knife. More complex subjects — particularly dragons — may take most or all of the day, and larger projects (such as sculptural candle holders) are often best spread over multiple days.
Good projects to tackle that the amateur smith can forge in a day are lantern holders- The dragon holding a ring in his maw! You can have them as long stakes to spike int he ground, or as brackets to bolt to a wall. Other projects include letter opener or knife blades, with the head as the hilt, coakhooks, door pulls, towel handers, toilet paper holders (everyone needs a bog dragon!), candle holders, bottle openers and much more!
Availability:
Because this is one of our more advanced courses, we schedule public dates once we have sufficient interest.
To take part: please email us to register your interest
Private bookings: available on request
If you have a specific creature or project in mind, please get in touch — we’d be delighted to help you plan it. 
