han(d)ˈmād/
adjective
adjective: handmade;
adjective: hand-made
made by hand, not by machine, and typically therefore of
superior quality.
Handmade goods have always fascinated me. Not necessarily because of the time and
effort it takes to create them, but because of the creative and determined mind
required to spark and follow through with an idea. My ongoing mission to document makers of the handmade recently
led me to Ironton Studios in a fledgling neighborhood near the stockyards in
Denver, CO. I found Dan Brandemuehl
at Ironton working on a white marble piece destined for an auction at Design
After Dark, a fundraiser for the Denver Art Museum's department of
Architecture, Design and Graphic Arts.
Most of Dan’s work is personal and noncommissioned, therefore qualifying as what I think of as “true” art. Dan works with stone because he loves it. When I asked if he’s ever sculpted with
any other medium, he answered with a quick “No.” He explained that he is more interested in sculpting via a
subtractive method than an additive method and has always had an affinity
for stone. Dan has a talent for
seeing and feeling the stone and has an innate vision for what he wants to
achieve. With these refined senses, the stone is gradually molded into the
shape he envisions. He
consistently feels the changing contours, and takes his time to get each plane
just right. He pays close
attention to the veins in the stone to ensure he doesn’t push the form to the
point of cracking. Though I spent just a short time with Dan, I became acutely
aware that he has a unique passion for art and the handmade. He has made it his
life. He comes to his studio at
Ironton in the evenings and on the weekends because he wants to. No one is pressuring him. He does it
because he enjoys it. Now that is what I call handmade.
