Faculty Profile for Sandra Dunn

Sandra Dunn

Haliburton School of The Arts

Sandra Dunn (B.F.A. U of W) started blacksmithing in 1996 after completing a Fine Art degree at the University of Waterloo. Commissions include gates, railings, furniture, hardware, jewellery, large copper sculptures, and restoration work for the Parliament Gates in Ottawa. Her work incorporates traditional blacksmithing techniques such as mortise and tenon joinery, repousse, piercing and forge welding, all of which reflect a deep interest in the gestures recorded by material that has been worked by hand. "The hammer marks, the length of the stitch, the neither crooked nor straight lines drawn with a pen or chisel " these are of primary importance. They tell about the process, the level of skill, the tools at hand, the individual; they are what make the work meaningful."