((L-R) Spencer Knight, Kurt Fisk, Hunter Dahlberg, Mark Manley, Heather Higgins, Anton Yakushev, Joe Elliott | Photo taken by Kat Yakushev)
In mid-September of this year, a blacksmithing workshop was held for the purpose of teaching and honing in skills, as well as creating a life-sized, steel sculpture of an eagle in flight.
The two blacksmiths leading the workshop were Anton Yakushev and his mentor, the owner of Dry Canyon Forge, Joe Elliott. Together, the duo invited five other blacksmiths, Spencer Knight, Kurt Fisk, Hunter Dahlberg, Mark Manley and Heather Higgins, to collaborate on this project.
The owner of the forge, Joe, clarified that the invitation-only workshop included a select group of blacksmiths, “We had a very high standard for this project,” Joe said. “Workshops are often times for artists to learn new skills from metalworkers across a variety of art forms, but not this one. We needed dedicated, professional blacksmiths who we knew could realistically work on this project with us.”
The main blacksmith behind the project was Anton. Anton is a metal artist, sculptor and blacksmith, originally hailing from Russia. After rising to acclaim and winning many awards for his work in Russia, he was kicked out of his country’s National Blacksmith Association due to his opposition to the takeover of Crimea and his refusal to make a monument celebrating that event.
Anton’s mother is Ukrainian, and his father is Russian. He came to the US for the fourth time in 2022 on a visitor visa with his wife. Only a week after he arrived, war broke out between Russia and Ukraine. As a well-known anti-war artist, it was not safe for him and his wife to return to Russia, so they have made the choice to remain here.
The Northwest Blacksmith Association (NWBA) and the Central Oregon Metal Arts Guild (COMAG) have welcomed the couple with open arms, eager to help them out and also learn from Anton’s wealth of blacksmithing knowledge.
Recognized as an artist who is passionate about giving back to his community and teaching his craft, Anton was welcomed by the master blacksmith Joe Elliott to practice his craft in the Dry Canyon Forge in Downtown Bend.
The eagle sculpture is a culmination of many things, including Anton’s perseverance in the face of danger, as well as the collaborative spirit he has witnessed and experienced here in the Central Oregon arts community.
The eagle itself has a wingspan of six feet and has been put together with over 400 handmade feathers to create an incredibly life-like and complex look.
An original eagle, called the prototype, was constructed to test out how realistic the project was, before actually committing to the final version.
The final version of the sculpture will receive the honor of becoming a permanent fixture at the High Desert Museum, while Anton and the rest of the blacksmiths are hoping to sell the prototype to the right buyer; while it’s not the final version, this prototype was constructed with the same quality and attention to detail, but the main difference is not in the eagle itself, but in the large base that holds the eagle up.
In other words, the prototype is a finished piece of art that will likely be sold to someone’s collection, or possibly find life in a public space. The options are still up in the air for Anton and Joe.
In the future, it looks like Anton will be taking part in more workshops for a variety of skill levels, both through his own connections here in Central Oregon, as well as through COMAG.