about us           
 
 
 
My name is Matt James.
My partner Jane and I live on ten acres just north of Taupo in the 
Central North Island of New Zealand. The township is on the shores 
of Lake Taupo which is the largest lake in New Zealand. The area 
around here is very picturesque with mountains, rivers, forest land 
and geothermal activity whichcombine to make Taupo one of 
New Zealand's top tourist destinations.
 
 
     
  
     
I have had a long term interest in the making of pattern welded steel.
The forge area I use is about 6M x 6M. It has a 2cwt (228lb) Massey 
pneumatic hammer, a 30 ton and a 75 ton press and several gas forges. 
One of the presses and the forges I have made myself. The hammerwas 
originally imported into New Zealand by the NZ Government from 
England in 1926 and was probablyused by the Railways.
  
  
      
Other interests I pursue include working with wood. The pleasure in 
exposing the grain in a piece of wood is similar to watching the pattern 
appear on a piece of damascus when putting it in the etch tank for the
first time. I enjoy the blending of metal and wood. Although one goes 
through a man-made process and the other is natural, they each serve 
to enhance the other when put together in the right context. You can 
see examples of some of my work in this field in the Presentation Boxes 
in the Gallery. Another of my artistic interests is engraving/gold inlay. 
Examples of my work can also be seen in the Gallery.