Zan Emerson
They/Them
Brooklyn, NY
Zan graduated with a degree in Metalsmithing from Skidmore College in '07. After a 15 year career in the music industry, they returned to metals in '22 and now dedicate their time to advancing their craft and working as a direct support professional.
“I am a craftsperson driven by a love for material and fire arts, working in both ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Both my inspiration and process are grounded in the joy I derive from traditional metal forming techniques, which I use to create work that examines the line between functional and art object.”
www.zanemerson.com
How does your creative practice reflect your experience of living and making as a BIPOC and/or 2SLGBTQIA+ maker?
“While the intersection of art and identity is undeniable, my identity includes so much more than being trans-nonbinary, that I personally do not consider it a key force behind my creative practice. I am a caregiver. I am deeply driven by live music. I am idealist (sometimes) to a fault. I have issues with control. I have had the privilege of a fantastic art education to begin with. For me, making objects out of metal is physical and conceptual practice in balancing joy and frustration, control and letting go, deepening my patience, and bringing beauty into the world that (hopefully) enriches the lives and rituals of others. Being trans is a baseline element of who I am, but the objects that I make encompass all of me.”
What techniques, stories, or materials have been passed down to you, and how are you reimagining them in the present?
“I was fortunate to receive my undergraduate education from a school with a fantastic traditional metalsmithing program. It was there that I not only gained my love of working with metal, but I learned how to translate my desire to create into an aesthetic language, and find purpose and joy in the act of making itself. That initial spark has continued into a lifelong practice of learning from teachers all around me and applying those lessons–be they another metals technique or something more abstract like gained patience–into each new experiment and piece I embark on.”
"Impractical Vessel No. 2", Wrought iron & brass, 5.25" x 3.25" x 1.5", 2025How does your work honor those who came before you while forging new pathways for the future?
“I believe that a life well lived is a practice in constant learning. I am fortunate to have had countless fantastic teachers–from formal metals instructors, to artists across mediums that I consider dear friends, to the beauty of a foggy morning with my studio door open. I hope to continue practicing my craft well into the future as a way to process and reflect of all of this knowledge, while sharing everything I can with the communities I am a part of.”
Photographs Courtesy of the Artist
Anything else you would like to share about this work? This can be an important part of the process, sourcing materials, research, etc.
“When I first worked with metal as an undergrad nearly 2 decades ago, I was fixated on the concept of perfection. However, when I returned to the medium after a 15 year hiatus, I found myself with worse eyesight, shaky hands, and not enough time to work to my former level. One thing that hadn't changed though was my love for moving metal. In blacksmithing, I found a side of the medium where letting the process show was embraced.
Wrought iron is a material that is beautiful in its imperfections. When formed it has a tendency to show grain and even fracture. I was drawn to it for this reason - to let go of the fear of the material being itself. Here, I experimented by forge welding and flattening a reclaimed bar into sheet, and forming the result into a cup that brings my past and present with metal together, ‘flaws’ and all.
‘Impractical’ used to be something I wrestled with - if I chose form over function in the slightest I would consider practicality forfeited. Here, I embrace ‘impractical’ with a hole-filled vessel as a rejection of my former standards and an embrace of the joy of craft as play.”