Students of the Blacksmiths Guild of the Potomac hammer personal projects during a guild meeting in Arlington, Va. on Nov. 07, 2025.
Members of Glen Echo Pottery throw their pieces on the wheel, the first step in the creation process, at the studio in Glen Echo, Md. on Sept. 28, 2025.
Beatriz Pinto shapes a bowl she plans to gift her son at the Glen Echo Pottery Studio in Glen Echo, Md. on Sept. 28, 2025.
A member of the Blacksmiths Guild of the Potomac heats an iron rod in the forge during a guild meeting in Arlington, Va. on Nov. 07, 2025.
Paul Swartwood, owner of Glen Echo Glassworks, shapes a pumpkin at his workbench on Oct. 01, 2025 in Glen Echo, Md.
Handmade bowls created by members of Glen Echo Pottery are displayed along a table during the Echo Arts Festival on Sept. 28, 2025 in Glen Echo, Md.
Cooper Guella, shopmaster for the Blacksmiths Guild of the Potomac, practices his forge welding technique at their workshop in Arlington, Va. on Nov. 10, 2025.
Paul Swartwood, owner of Glen Echo Glassworks, blows air through the pipe to inflate a piece of glass into a pumpkin on Oct. 01, 2025 in Glen Echo, Md.
Marnie Dollinger, president of the Blacksmiths Guild of the Potomac, guides a student through the process of making a snowflake at the forge in Arlington, Va. on Dec. 03, 2025.
Window decorations for sale hang in the window of Fiscus Glassworks in Alexandria, Va. on Nov. 08, 2025.
LLooking over the shelves of pieces ready to be glazed, Beatriz Pinto admires the work of her peers at Glen Echo Pottery in Glen Echo, Md. on Sept. 28, 2025.
Students cut sheets of glass during an introductory stained glass making class at Fiscus Glassworks in Alexandria, Va. on Nov. 08, 2025.
Cooper Guella brushes borax off a piece of iron, smoothing out the surface to prepare it for welding at the Blacksmiths Guild of the Potomac shop in Arlington, Va. on Nov. 10, 2025.
Beatriz Pinto molds clay at a wheel in the Glen Echo Pottery studio in Glen Echo, Md. on Sept. 28, 2025.
Mare' Fiscus, manager and teacher at Fiscus Glassworks, demonstrates a process for cleanly cutting a sheet of glass during a basic stained glass making class in Alexandria, Va. on Nov. 08, 2025.
Paul Swartwood, owner of Glen Echo Glassworks, rounds out molten glass to serve as the base for a pumpkin figurine in his studio in Glen Echo, Md. on Oct. 01, 2025.
A member of the Blacksmiths Guild of the Potomac rests against the forge while waiting for his iron to cool in Arlington, Va. on Nov. 10, 2025.
Blacksmithing started in 1500 BCE. Glassblowing emerged not too long before in the early 1st Century BCE. Pottery predated both, having begun in 29,000 BCE. The common era is quite literally founded on these such trades that molded natural elements into usable tools integral to the development of society, yet, since the Industrial Revolution, most artisans have been priced out and replaced by machines that can manufacture far more product for far less cost. Mass-produced goods, spurred by an economic race-to-the-bottom, have eliminated the inherent beauty found within the flaws of handmade crafts, leaving a select few tasked with preserving cultural traditions that, as post-structuralists would say, constitute the simulacrum of scarcity that defines societal interests. As these trades face an increasing threat of extinction in the face of digital convenience and cheap goods, I set out to document the history, community, and dignity embedded in each spiral of glass or every cut in iron. Whether it’s a pottery studio, blacksmithing forge, or stained glass workshop, spaces where craftsmanship is revered and passed on are critical to sustaining these trades for centuries more, and with it, the passion and quality that a machine could never begin to replicate.
Blacksmiths' Guild of the Potomac
Nov. 08 - Fiscus Glassworks
Oct. 01 - Glen Echo Glassblowing
Sept. 28 - Glen Echo Pottery
