About Blacksmith Scott Lankton
In 2019 Lankton moved his home and studio from Ann Arbor to Cedar, Michigan near Traverse City and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Park. He is now only accepting work on a limited basis as he completes the building of his new studio and home.
History: Scott Lankton was born in Midland, Michigan in 1956. He attended Ohio State and received his B.F.A. from Western Michigan University in 1978. He opened his own studio in 1979. In 1985 he went to Aachen, Germany and received his Diploma at The International Teaching Center for Metal Design where he apprenticed under his late Master, Manfred Bredohl.
Until recently he has worked as a studio artist mostly doing architectural commissions in steel and bronze such as stair railings, gates, furniture, kitchen racks, swords, and sculpture. Recent projects include 180 feet of dogwood motif railing in steel and bronze, forging handguns into artwork, and a large hanging sculpture for a cancer center.
In 1988 the British Museum commissioned him to replicate the complex pattern welded sword from the famous Sutton Hoo Ship Burial (dated near 600 A.D.) This sword is now permanently displayed at the The British Museum in London alongside the original. His writings on this helped others to explore creating complex composite blades. See elsewhere on this site for details.
He has taught metalwork and blacksmithing at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, Peter’s Valley Craft Center in New Jersey, Appalachian Center for Crafts, Smithville, TN, and Tillers International, Kalamazoo, MI. He has lead many workshops and demonstrated and lectured at national and international conferences such as ABANA, Ferro 2000, and Ferro 2005 in Germany and in Stia, Italy.
He was President, Vice President, and Financial Chair of ABANA, the Artist Blacksmith Association of North America. He served on their Board of Directors for nine years.
According to Lankton, “the spontaneity of forging hot steel continues to delight me as does the strength and integrity of this medium. I am fascinated by the duality of beauty and danger that that life combines and I hope that through my work, the lives of others will be made a bit more beautiful.”
More About Scott lankton
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| BORN: | 3-08-1956 | Midland, Michigan |
| EDUCATION: | 1978 | B.F.A. Jewelry/Metalsmithing, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI. |
| 1985 | 1985 Apprenticeship under Manfred Bredohl. Diploma, International Teaching Center for Metal Design. Aachen, Germany. | |
| WORKSHOPS: | 1983 | Japanese Swordsmithing with Yoshindo Yoshihara, College of Marin, CA. |
| 1984 | Japanese Swordsmithing with Yoshindo Yoshihara, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX. | |
| 1986 | Gate building with Francis Whitaker, Dayton, OH. | |
| 1987 | Sculpture with Manfred Bredohl, University of Michigan, School of Art and Architecture, Ann Arbor, MI. | |
| TEACHING: | 1991 | Instructor, Pattern welding and bladesmithing. Peter’s Valley Craft Center. Layton, NJ. |
| 1992 | Demonstrator, International ABANA Conference, San Luis Obispo, CA. | |
| 1994 | Advanced Pattern Welding, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC. | |
| 1994 | Demonstrator, Quad State Conference, Tipp City, Ohio | |
| 1997 | Instructor, Bladesmithing, National ornamental Metals Museum, Memphis, TN. | |
| 1998 | 1998 Demonstrator, ABANA Conference, Asheville, NC. | |
| 1999 | Instructor, Blacksmithing, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC | |
| 1999 | Instructor, Damascus Steel, Peter’s Valley Center for Crafts, Layton, NJ. | |
| 1999 | Demonstrator, Forging on the River, National Ornamental Metals Museum, Memphis, TN. | |
| 1999 | Demonstrator, SOFA Conference, Troy, OH. | |
| 1999 | Demonstrator, California Blacksmiths’ Octoberfest, Fort Ross, CA. | |
| 2000 | USA Presenter, Demonstrator, FERRO 2000, World Congress of Blacksmiths, Cloppenburg, Germany. | |
| 2002 | Instructor, Iron, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC. | |
| 2003 | Instructor, Peter’s Valley Center for Crafts, Layton, NJ. | |
| 2004 | 2004 Instructor, Smartshop, Kalamazoo, MI. | |
| 2005 | FERRO 2005, World Congress of Blacksmiths, Peace Project, Forging a Tank into a sculpture to benefit UNICEF/Schools in Africa Project. Vechta, Germany. | |
| 2005 | Demonstrator, Rocky Mountain Smiths Conference, Carbondale, CO. | |
| 2005 | Riverfront Sculpture Workshop, for the City of Kalamazoo. @Smartshop. Kalamazoo, MI. | |
| 2005 | Forging Peace, with Holly Fisher and Pekka Lappalainan, @Smartshop, Kalamazoo, MI. | |
| 2000-2014 | Annual Instructor, Artistic Smithing, Tiller’s International, Kalamazoo, MI. | |
| AFFILIATIONS: | The Knifemaker’s Guild, retired. | |
| Michigan Artist Blacksmith Association, Past president. | ||
| ABANA, Artist Blacksmith Association of North America, 25 year member, nine years on the Board of Directors, four years as Vice President, seven as Chair of Finance Committee, and Past President. | ||
| National Ornamental Metal Museum, Memphis, TN. | ||
| Tiller’s International, Member and Instructor. Kalamazoo, MI. | ||
| EXHIBITIONS: | 1982 | Metalsmithing, The Michigan Influence, Ford Gallery, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI. |
| 1984 | Knives for a Mythical Hunt, Balene’s Gallery, Houston, TX. | |
| 1984 | Contemporary Ironwork, Louisville Art Gallery, Louisville, KY. | |
| 1984 | The Knifemaker’s Art, Edward H. Merrin Gallery, New York, NY. | |
| 1987 | MABA Exhibition, Slusser gallery, University of Michigan School of Art, Ann Arbor, MI. | |
| 1993 | The American Art Knife, National Ornamental Metals Museum, Memphis, TN. | |
| 1997 | Contemporary Blacksmithing, Artspace, Lima, OH. | |
| 1998 | Garden Show, American Craft Gallery, Cleveland, OH. | |
| 1999 | Scott Lankton, Swords into Ploughshares Peace Gallery, Detroit, MI. | |
| 2001 | Contemporary ironwork, Brookfield Craft Center Brookfield, CT. | |
| 1982-2004 | 2004 ABANA Conference Exhibitions | |
| 2004-2005 | Iron, A New Vocabulary, Traveling Exhibition, Curated by the Penland Gallery, Penland, NC traveling to Winthrop University Galleries, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC. and Deland Museum of Art, Deland FL. | |
| 2005 | 2005 Past, Present, Future. Center for Creative Studies Detroit, MI. | |
| 2006 | Metalize Invitational. Detroit Artist’s Market Detroit, MI | |
| 2007 | 2007 The Forge, Invitational. Midland Center for the Arts, Midland, MI. | |
| COLLECTIONS: | 1989 | The British Museum, Sutton Hoo Sword Replication, London, UK |
| 1999 | 1999 Michael Assairian Cancer Center, Providence Hospital, Meditation Space Sculpture, Novi, MI. | |
| 1986-2015 | Numerous private collections | |
| PUBLICATIONS: | 1984 | “Points of Interest” by Jim Weyer, Book one. |
| 1985 | “Custom Knifemaking” by Tim McWright | |
| 1987 | “Points of Interest” by Jim Weyer, Book two. | |
| 1989 | “Metalsmith Magazine”, A Reproduction of the Sutton Hoo Sword” by Scott Lankton | |
| 1996 | “Blade Magazine”, Doctor Damascus” October. | |
| 1999 | “Beating Guns into Art,” Ann Arbor News, 4-20-99 | |
| 1999 | “Armed with Art” the Detroit Free Press, 4-29-99 | |
| 1999 | “Forging Guns for Peace” CBS Evening News | |
| 1999 | “Guns into Art”, Backstage Pass, PBS channel 56 Television, Detroit, MI. | |
| 2000 | “The Contemporary Blacksmith”, by Dona Meilach, Schiffer Publishing. | |
| 2002 | 2002 “Architectural Ironwork”, by Dona Meilach, Schiffer Publishing | |
| 1984-2008 | “The Anvil’s Ring”, a publication of ABANA. Various photos and articles. |
Printable Brochure
Musings
Sometimes people ask me how I managed to get where I am as an artist-blacksmith. One of the most important things to remember is to do the best work that you are capable of at any given time. “Quality is not an act, it is a habit.” Aristotle. A second trait that serves us well is tenacity. Never give up, be tenacious and keep trying to do the best job that is possible under the circumstances.
I see two things as being vital to producing good art or craft. One is the idea or concept, and the second is the quality of the execution of that idea. Neither is enough on its own. A great design or idea is not fully expressed and communicated if the craftsmanship is poor. Likewise superior crafting of a poor design tends to be empty and unsatisfying. We need both together; it’s simple, but not always so easy.
So how does an artist maintain their edge and keep their work fresh? The simple answer is by playing, by being open to new ideas and techniques. Set aside specific time during the week to work on something that is not the usual stuff, not for money, its just for your own fun. Experiment, screw things up, play with the metal and see where it takes you. There are two ways to do something, the first way and the right way, and they are never the same. By blindly attempting the new, a better way is often revealed. This kind of work is fun, if frustrating, and brings you energy and ideas. Many good ideas come directly from the work itself. The hammer, fire, and iron become your best teachers. So many hammers, so little time!
Scott Lankton