Art from the Heart

Watching blacksmiths at the forge, painters at the easel, cabinet makers at the chisel, and wandering the woods with a famous calligrapher in small, bespoke gatherings is what the Prince Albert Open Studios project is all about

- CHRIS MARAIS

Everything about Kashief Booley, the Blacksmith of Prince Albert in the Western Cape Karoo, says Old School. And watching him work in the Striking Metal smithy on a rise overlooking the village, with the majestic Swartberg range sweeping across the Prince Albert Valley and westwards all along the Klein Karoo, is to segue back a few centuries.

There’s a flaming forge, rows of handmade tools, hulking anvil, hissing water bucket and the all-important hammer. But then there are signs of the times – T-shirt and blue-denim jeans with the Bruce Springsteen cut, gas burners and angle grinders.

When I was a kid, it was, of course, all about being a cowboy one day when I grew up. Maybe a fireman. Now I’m a ballie, and all I really want to be is the village blacksmith. This guy. In this place.

The relatively well-heeled citizenry of Prince Albert and distant Cape Town fancy their custom-made goods, so there’s always a commission available for Kashief – a beautiful hand-forged set of hooks, door knockers, gates, balustrades, tables, stools and decor items of whimsy that look perfect somewhere in the cottage. He’ll tell you, “When that forge is lit, I go into another place.” It’s a place where an ancient craft meets a modern creative mind and together they make something special.

Kashief is one of more than 30 Prince Albert artists on the local Open Studios Route. They work in many media and sell across the world. There must be something magical in the mountain water that flows into the village, because the creative capital of this place is astounding.