Harmony Forge features the fine ironwork and copper embossed art of Ward Brinegar, founder of Harmony Forge. I have been pursuing the art of blacksmithing since 1975. Dedication to fine craftsmanship, meticulous attention to detail, and excellent service to the client were the hallmarks of my work from the beginning. I retired from my blacksmithing career on March 31, 2018. Copper embossing is a medium I have taken up to work with lighter materials and explore new artistic boundaries. My blacksmithing work was primarily residential, although I completed several significant commissions for commercial buildings, especially hotels.
I grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and graduated from New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, in 1974 with a B.A. in English. I was first exposed to the art of blacksmithing at Philmont Scout Ranch in northeast New Mexico, where I worked all the summers of my high school and college years. In 1975, I attended the Turley Forge School of Blacksmithing in Santa Fe. In 1976, I served a brief apprenticeship with Joe Pehoski at the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer in Grand Island, Nebraska. I replaced Joe as the resident blacksmith there in the fall of 1976 and served in that position until 1989. I also had the opportunity to be able to spend time learning from the late Francis Whitaker.
In 1989, I returned to Santa Fe and opened Harmony Forge, enjoying family, the mountains, the climate, and the robust building market here. I learned a great deal from several partnerships and have been fortunate to have several fine employees, some of whom have gone on to start blacksmithing businesses of their own. The best years of my career were 2001-2012, working in partnership with my son, Sam, who has moved on to a career in the coffee business; please visit www.ohoriscoffee.com. In the summer of 2001, I moved to the Dancing Anvil Ranch, 15 miles south of Santa Fe, where I was blessed to live and work surrounded by the beauty of central New Mexico for 17 years. I retired in the spring of 2018.
During an injury recuperation in 2013, I took up the art of copper embossing, which allows me to continue to do creative metalwork, but with ounces of material and pencil-sized tools. Please take a few minutes to browse my portfolio.
After living on the road in a fifth wheel for 6 years, pulling two different trailers over 39,000 miles, I have settled in the small, quiet town of Truth or Consequences, NM.