Today's entry is also a kind of "sneak-peek" to a new multimedia project I've just begun. A few years ago I did my first multimedia project, (which can be seen here), on Jerry Schmidt, an ironworker and welder/sculptor out of the Collinwood/Cleveland area who ran his own gallery, Waterloo 7. When I first did that project, I hadn't learned how to edit video yet, so the project is comprised of audio clips set to photographs in a slideshow. Now, two years later, Jerry's closed his Waterloo 7 Gallery and has opened Branches Art Space, a gallery co-op run by Jerry and other local artists with the mission to help support local art and offer classes as well as a gallery space for artists to exhibit their work. Today's entry is a portrait I took of Jerry and one of his sculptures when I visited Branches for the first time this afternoon.
When I did that earlier project on Jerry, I went into it thinking I'd be doing more of a profile on Jerry and his art form. While the end result was of that nature, the more I interviewed Jerry the more I found out that, not only is he a strong support system for the local art community, but that the art of welding and sculpting has been practiced is his family for multiple generations. Jerry's grandfather was a "tinner" who helped put some of the finishing touches on Cleveland's Terminal Tower, and Jerry's father was also an ironworker and welder who was the first to introduce Jerry to the trade. Now Jerry's current apprentice is his son, Tyler Schmidt, who is quickly making a name for himself in the local art community as well. In this followup to my 2010 project, I'm hoping to go more into that father/son/artist relationship and how ironworking has become a trade that's connected the family for the last four generations, as well as add the video element to the project. We'll see how it goes!
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