Metal Artisans
Louie DuFour - Metal
Louie
DuFour is a welder and metal fabricator "par excellence" in Bath
County Virginia. His custom creations range from the strong and bold to the
intricate and graceful. He is adept at working with clients to achieve
the purpose and look desired to compliment a room, a home, a landscape. Whether
he is creating a gate for a charming cottage or for a grand estate, for example,
his mastery of design, materials, and skill with the welding torch come together
in a one-of-a-kind treasure.
At Seven Oaks, his series of tables designed for the Gallery are married with Ron Shifflett's handsome butler's trays, and can also be used beautifully with table tops of other materials such as marble or glass. (More photos)
Tom Wooten - Blacksmith
Tom Wooten is both a blacksmith and a fiddler - art forms that
require both stamina and precision. Actually, Tom only looks like
he might be a country fiddler as he works next to a rushing stream that feeds
into the
ancient New River. It is with a wink that he has named his company "Fiddler's
Forge," for he is actually a violinist who loves to play Mozart. Mississippi-born
and transplanted to North Carolina's Appalachia, Tom's work has garnered national
recognition and ongoing royalties from his fine forged designs. The gallery
is fortunate to have some of his wonderful "shepherd's crook" plant hangers.
We are looking forward to broadening our representation of his work at Seven Oaks.
Don Dillon - Blacksmith
Don is an old-timey North Carolina blacksmith whose work ranges
from his wonderful mule-themed pieces and primitive candle stands to woodworker's
hand tools such as his popular bowl-maker's adze. His mules have a grin (the
bigger ones even have teeth!) and so does Don - a man of great good humor and
many stories.