tasting, seeing, & moving forward

"If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world."
— C.S. Lewis

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Hello there and welcome to my blog. Thank you so much for visiting and for witnessing my first steps in this new endeavor with my art!

What you the reader should know about me:

My name's David DelaGardelle. I'm a full time professional swordsmith, co owner and founder of the Mad Dwarf Workshop along with Andy Davis. In winter of 09 I finished the amount of college studies I wished to complete at Ball State University, and then moved onto perusing my artistic career in both bladesmithing and in freelance art as my main career paths. This move was spurred on by a number of overwhelmingly positive opportunities and endless support from friends, family, and fellow artists. Many of those opportunities I've been blessed and encouraged by will things I'll elaborate on in later posts.

My purpose with this blog is to not merely to share my work with everyone interested in what I am doing, but mainly to engage with other people passionate about the same topics and types of art. I hope for it to push me forward in my own work, and to motivate me to aim higher for the goals I have currently set for myself.

G.K. Chesterton once said:

"The dignity of the artist lies in his duty of keeping awake the sense of wonder in the world."

That is what I hope and pray to be my goal with this blog, with my work, and even with my life.

I've grown up always letting my creativity and curiousity about the unknown lead me. & I believe that no matter what you believe creativity is undeniably an ability and a gift given by the Creator. It's a gift given to us that we might see the glory in His creation, and that we might create, for both His glory and for our joy.

This blog will most definitely include (but not be limited to):

• random scribbles and ideas from my sketchbook. both swordsmithing and personal art related.
• works in progress on projects, both personal projects and commissioned.
• finished works, be it paintings or drawings either digital or traditional.
• personal bladesmithing works from my own endeavors in our workshop.
• links to other artists who inspire me and who you should be viewing.
• music that I'm listening to currently when working on art.
• references and links to awesome organizations and ministries that deserve support and credit.
• rules and etiquette on kamikaze watermelon mustache attacking and fish slapping (only on Tuesdays)
• and much much more...

In the end, I hope for this blog to be a place not merely for me to show off my personal and petty attempts at artwork, but mainly as a place for all of us either as artists, or simply as general readers to connect and find inspiration and encouragement from each other, from past masters, from current creatives, and from the one sole Creator who created us.
I hope this can be a blog where your mind isn't simply entertained or amused, but is instead "renewed" not by my art, but by the Creators grace through the work that we all do.

God bless
- David Delagardelle