Oleg Turkovskiy

Blacksmith

The satisfaction of trial and error

Oleg's working process is never planned; it's intuitive
The focus of his work is nature
His goal is to inspire and provoke an emotional reaction

Oleg Turkovskiy is an airfield construction engineer by training. He worked in the field for over ten years. However, he was always drawn to the idea of creating something with his own hands. At first he discovered cold forging, but didn't enjoy it at all. So he built his first blacksmith forge and finally got what he wanted: an opportunity to improvise. It took a year to refine the forging shop and test different tools. It also took a fingernail – literally! Oleg has accomplished a lot in the four years since then. He is now a part of a blacksmith association and his works are known in and outside of Ekaterinburg. But Oleg modestly says that he is still learning every day.

Interview

Where did you learn to work with metal?: I didn't have a teacher; nobody would take me as an apprentice, as people said I was way too old. So I found tutorials online, singled out useful tips and common mistakes. I learned everything by myself, by trial and error. I used to overthink things, now I make things with my hands, not with my head.
What are your inspirations?: Inspiration is always sudden. Sometimes it’s an image of a certain animal. Sometimes it’s thoughts that I choose to transform into a form. I enjoy the challenge of imitating the plasticity of natural forms, that is the reason I focus on animal figures so much.
Is there anything people don’t know about your work?: I never learned how to make simple things; I can’t make little tools like a knife or scissors. I skipped that part and maybe it’s a good thing. Also, I don’t care how long it takes to finish a work, I only care about the result. In order to get something out of lifeless metal, I will use every technique known to me.
How do you define the quality of your work?: There is no such thing as a perfect piece of work. I can find something I’d like to add or fix in almost everything I make. The quality of work is defined by people’s reaction to it and the emotions caused by it.

Oleg Turkovskiy is a rising star: he began his career in 2016