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Father and son forge farrier, blacksmithing duo

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Dan and Danny Tesar stand among their forges, anvils and handmade tools inside their small blacksmith workshop in rural Wauzeka. (Photos by Correne Martin)

These j-hooks and other art pieces demonstrate the kind of ornamental blacksmithing Dan Tesar has been creating for years. One of his trademarks is the leaf seen here. Aside from making and selling horseshoes as a farrier, Dan also sells the types of items pictured: candle holders, trivets, keychains, corkscrews and much more.

Dan Tesar hammers on a horseshoe in his workshop.

Danny Tesar Jr. demonstrates using some of the tools needed to create nail holes in a horseshoe.

By Correne Martin

“Functional art” seems to sum up the style of ornamental blacksmithing and farrier work Dan Tesar, of rural Wauzeka, has been creating for over 20 years.

Examples of such sturdy and practical pieces stand out upon walking into the lower level of the country barn workshop where he and his son, Danny Jr., 19, spend hours together behind anvils and in front of forges. 

“My wife (Joeann) says it’s like stepping 100 years back in time,” he laughed, admitting, “You expect to see this lavish shop, but when you step foot inside, it’s like a Mr. Ed thing. The north half (of the basement) has the animals and the south half is the shop.”

Dozens of tools Dan has designed and manufactured, tweaked or refurbished himself clutter the workspace. Each and every one of them lies ready for use by the father-son duo in producing their rustic and primitive brand of metal artwork. 

“It’s nice when you can make a tool for yourself and use it as a daily device,” Dan shared, giving the example of his homemade hoof knives and horseshoes used in his Chicago-based farrier business (Dan Tesar Horseshoeing Company). “I like mine better; they’re more adaptable to benefit the horse.”

In the shop, hammers, knives, turning forks, tongs and vices are set up precisely alongside a coal forge, gas forge and two anvils. One is a 300-pound Peter Wright-built anvil from the 1860s that Dan found on eBay. Another one is a London-pattern, 105-pound anvil that has great “sex appeal,” he quipped. “It’s fun to work on.”

Also, there’s plenty of steel and miscellaneous parts around, waiting for the next project. The Tesars tend to repurpose many parts “if they’re good yet,” including scraps they purchase cheap from a few local machine shops.

“I think that it’s just frickin’ crazy what can be made out of a square piece of steel,” Dan said, referring to a few of the j-hooks they have cut, manipulated and adorned with personalized leaves, twists, horse heads and other decorations. 

“All our art feels very organic,” he noted. 

The gentlemen’s horse farmer has certainly passed his mixed media talents and wisdom on to his son, who has also learned a thing or two from mom Joeann’s instinctual eclectic flair. Danny, who is a current UW-Platteville student, is so into the blacksmith craft that he even turned his mom’s childhood Easy-Bake Oven into a forge. 

“I’ve been riding in dad’s truck and handing him tools since I was 5 years old,” Danny explained. “This year, I started shoeing horses.”

Danny hopes to continue with the family farrier and blacksmithing business after college. 

He and his dad feel the industry is having a resurgence in popularity thanks to television shows like “Forged in Fire” and because of the demand for metal home decor and art. The farrier business is strong too because their horseshoes are custom-built for each animal and their individual hoof maladies, and customers appreciate that special touch. 

With his son by his side, Dan fashions a vast array of functional art, from intricate candle holders, drawer pulls, keychains, hooks, trivets, belt buckles and wine bottle holders, to larger shepherd’s hooks, hand railings, yard signs, shelving brackets and abstract wall art.

“Art is my release. You can get pretty miserable and crotchety in this business if you don’t have a release,” Dan lectured amusingly. “[Making art is] my time for myself.”

Dan himself has always been fascinated with the components of things. “I took stuff apart, like TVs and radios,” he said. “That’s how I would learn. But I didn’t always put it back together. That was for my older brother.”

Danny, as a small boy, liked to build farm implements out of cardboard. He created an entire fleet.

So, side by side, their styles, techniques and efficiency make them a pretty good team.

In fact, father and son came together this spring to create around 60 items for exhibit at the Left Bank Shop & Gallery in McGregor, Iowa. Joeann worked with the art gallery to provide photos of mainly Dan’s work, and the staff selected which pieces they were interested in displaying. 

“We had nothing in inventory and we had to get it all ready in two weeks. We worked sun up to sun down and went through over 100 pounds of coal,” Dan stated. “It was fun; a lot of stuff I hadn’t made in years, so we had to rerun through setting the jigs, and then it was trial and error.”

His art is not only for display but it’s also for sale. Stop by the Left Bank at 158 Main St. to see the work. As he sells art, Dan replenishes the gallery’s supply.

Dan has also shown his quality, handmade pieces at the Driftless Area Art Festival, and he does custom projects for customers. He can all but guarantee they will last a lifetime.

To see more of his work, find Dan Tesar Horseshoeing Co. on Facebook. 

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