Pat Blair, the artist behind Forge Ahead, splits his time betweenHumboldt County, California, and Petersburg, Alaska.One of his sisters took him to a working metal sculptor's studio when he was a boy, and he was immediately taken with this medium. As soon as he earned enough money, he purchased a set of tanks and torches and learned to weld and braize withthem. Fast forward 50 years, and a variety of jobs and experiences later, and Pat now does a lot of fun things with torches and metal. On a job a number of years ago, Pat was given some scrap copper from a sheetmetal job. He took that scrap home, immediately fell inlove with this material, and now works almost exclusively in copper He makes a variety of sculptures (visit his site at theforgeahead.com), and started making these bracelets in 2013.

The first bracelet Pat made was a gift for his sweetie, and itdrewa lot of admirers, so he soon began making them for others. These bracelets are made entirely from post-construction recycled copper. The coloring on the bracelet is a resultof "flame painting"--a technique of bringing the copper to aspecific temperature then cooling it down. The colors are actually micro crystalsjust like the ones that you hang in your window on a sunny day to create therainbows on the floor and walls. These crystals refract the light and cause the colorsto show up. After a considerable amount of wear, the brilliant colors fade to a verypretty nut brown color.

Styles: Each bracelet is a unique piece of wearable art. We've labeled them with Style letter designations (A-W). To connect the Style letter to its corresponding photograph, use the Style pull-down menu to rotate through the images. (Clicking on the photos will not change the letter designation displayed, so be sure to use the Style pull-down menu to pull up the image before adding your favorite to your shopping cart.)

Dimensions

• Bracelets vary in width from .25-1.25"
• The gap between the two ends of the bracelet (which are stamped with Pat's signature and an American flag/made in the US stamp, as shown in the next-to-last photo) is between .5-1.5 inches. Because copper is malleable, the gap can be narrowed or widened as necessary, and the overall shape adjusted to fit the wearers' wrist/arm.
• The length of the bracelet from end to end (minus the gap) varybetween 5.75" and 6.75." (Styles W and X are longer, with a larger gap to accommodate bigger wrists.) If you would like measurements for a specific bracelet, please email us for details.

If you have more specific questions about measurements or would like us to send pictures of a bracelet from different angles, please email us at belle-starr.com. Include the Style letter(s) in question with your inquiry.