When the American Craft Council (ACC) returns to the Cobb Galleria Centre for its 23nd annual Atlanta Show in March, Milton artist and Crabapple blacksmith owner Michael Dillon of Dillon Forge will join ranks with 240 other master craft artisans for the prestigious show.
As the largest juried event of its kind in the Southeast, the ACC Show is known as the nation’s premier marketplace for handcrafted basketry, ceramics, fashion wearables, furniture, glass, jewelry, home decor and more.
“I am a trained and passionate sculptor,” said Dillon, whose reputation for creating stunning forged stair railings, gates, and furniture for multimillion dollar homes in Atlanta and abroad has been recognized for two decades.
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Dillon has always been interested in large scale iron work, and he has worked with a variety of distinguished clients and public projects. His most notable clients include Arthur Blank, who commissioned him to create both the Grand Stair Railing for the Arthur Blank Family Foundation and a grand stair rail for the Blank’s personal residence.
He has recently extended his career into the public art arena, installing monumental public sculptures and gates for the cities of Charlotte, NC and Nashville, TN. Duluth just picked his design for a sculpture in a roundabout.
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“I enjoy the collaborative process, and working closely with the city art councils and building team,” said Dillon. “We’ve received overwhelming positive feedback from the communities.”
Dillon originally came to Georgia by way of Missouri in 1993, because his wife, also an art graduate, wanted to return to her roots. A graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute, Dillon originally intended to be a sculptor, but finds the architectural iron work fully satisfied his artistic side. His unique blend of artisan metalwork has long been recognized by his peers; just this past year he received the acclaimed Philip Trammell Schutze award for craftsmanship in classical architecture.
“I am fortunate that the skills, tools, and techniques that I use as an architectural blacksmith carry over to my artwork, “said Dillon. “I enjoy creating pieces that make people take a second or third look, trying to figure out how we did that, where the joints are, how it got put together.”
Chosen through a rigorous juried process last September, Dillon looks forward to being among the top artisans in American craft at the ACC Show. Meet Dillon and his distinguished peers at the ACC Show Friday, March 15 from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Saturday, March 16 from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.; and Sunday, March 17 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Cobb Galleria Centre. Get a sneak peek at the Preview Party March 8 from 6 – 9 p.m., with proceeds co-benefitting ACC and the Hambidge Center. To preview the show, visit craftcouncil.org/atlanta.
