Beyond the gate are a collection of metal buildings all of which have doors that force you to stoop to
enter, as if in reverence. Only when you've stepped through the door is your breath
taken away by the work of these simple, humble men.
The bench is made of
iron, wood and brass. It was done as blacksmiths worked centuries ago, all
by hand. The work was grueling and progressed at a snail's pace. Countless
times after working all night on one piece it was scrapped and redone when
the artisans were not pleased with the outcome.
The finished
bench would end up weighing 441 pounds. It would be 95 inches long, 40
inches in depth and 54 inches tall. At the end of each evening the workers
would share a cup of tea.
The back of the bench has a "toy" that
works. It is patterned after old wooden toys where a bear and a woodsman
split a log together. The final toy on the bench is made of brass. Around
the toy are the words, "From people to people" and the dates 1807-2007. The
bench won the silver medal at an exhibition in the Ural Mountains in
Feburary 2008.
Here Alexei Kobikov, Master Blacksmith, holds the silver medal the bench won at a large exhibition in Ekaterinburg in the Ural Mts. Sitting with him is Nikolai Arzhannikov, president of Access to Ideas.
