A Home Forged in Steel

Whether by paints, clays or the written word, every artist finds a medium to tell their stories, seeking to create a true masterpiece to transcend the ages. But nothing lasts forever. Canvases deteriorate and tear, ceramics crack and shatter, and stories become outdated.

However, steel endures. Though time and rust may damage metals, high-carbon steel can survive over 1,000 years, which is why Mark Dickson, a local artist and Florida State University Master Craftsman, forges his art in metal.

“I call it ancient futurism,” Dickson said. “They’re like artifacts to me.” Many centuries from now, he imagines future civilizations “digging up something that is so futuristic but is so ancient.”

↑ Dickson recently completed a 15-foot-tall statue titled, In Honor of the Worker. It commemorates the workers employed by the Elberta Crate company from 1922–1977. Photo by Saige Roberts

Dickson creates stories with his sculptures. Recently, he completed a statue called In Honor of the Worker, a 15-foot tall statue commemorating all of the workers, the majority African Americans, employed by Elberta Crate from 1922 to 1977. The company made slatted wire crates for the produce industry, but the factory was turned into an apartment complex after its closure. Dickson’s statue will remain behind as the workers’ legacy and endure long after its creator.

“This is my acknowledgment of the workers. In one hand is the person holding the gear, representing their grasp of industry and control of the machine. On the other hand, is an abstract crate.”

Dickson explained the crate is also a map, which represents the street names that no longer exist, replaced by developers.

Dickson and his wife have filled their home with art. Photo by Gabriel Hanway

Dickson’s love for art goes beyond his forge and power tools, infiltrating every part of his home. He and his wife renovated their ’70s-style two-story house, which was in disrepair when they bought it. Much like the metal he finds and collects for his art, he saw the house for its potential rather than its dilapidated state.

Similar to his commemoration of the workers of Elberta Crate, the path to his home is a walk through his own personal history. Transplanted agave and other salvaged succulents line the walkway alongside sculptures. His garden contains work by his late mentor, Charles Hook, alongside a Mekong Giant Banana tree.

“That’s a patina,” Dickson said of the wall of uniquely colored bells. “Bronze, when you hit it with acid and manipulate the rust, you get that. Then you leave them alone, and they keep doing their thing.”

Patina is a chemical process that occurs when you leave metal to the elements. However, you can manipulate it with ferric nitrate or ferric chloride to produce exciting colors, as seen in Dickson’s earliest work, Bell Tower.

“Steel is such a big part of my life.”

His threshold is a tribute to his chosen medium. Recycled metal beams hold his porch in place. The front door was crafted of galvanized steel, where he manipulated the array of orange-red with a zinc coating and clear seal.

The first image inside his home is a 16-square-foot painting from Francoise Baudoin d’Ajoux, an artist from Paris, France, and FSU alumna who shared her artwork at The French Studio in Railroad Square until her death in 2023. The painting was the first piece he and his wife purchased as a married couple.

A 16-square-foot painting by Francoise Baudoin d’Ajoux hangs above the staircase. A coffee table Dickson crafted from a Liberty ship’s hatch sits in the center of the living room. Photo by Gabriel Hanway

“Art’s always been a huge part of our lives,” Dickson said.

The short stairs into the living room provide a walk through history with African artifacts on the wall above a refurbished, mid-19th century chair. And Dickson’s coffee table was crafted from a Liberty ship’s hatch.

“The Liberty ships were these mass-produced, inexpensive cargo ships made in the late ’30s.”

A proponent of found art, Dickson took a door from one of these vessels his dad had owned and turned it into a coffee table, on top of which stands a small sculpture from Rome that he inherited from his grandmother, who encouraged his love of art at an early age.

In addition to paintings by Charles Chapman and sculptures by Peter Macchiarini, Dickson supports local artists, displaying pieces in every room. In the den, a window pane is inset with an alien fish by glass artist Russel Scaturro. A side table in the dining room houses figurative ceramics by sculptor Barbara Balzer.

An untitled sculpture by Charles Hook sits in the living room. Photo by Gabriel Hanway

Prominent in the living room is a prized metal figure by Deborah La Grasse, who taught sculpture, design and architecture in the School of Architecture at Florida A&M University.

“This is one of my favorite pieces,” Dickson said of the sculpture. “It is so incredibly advanced.”

The detailed head feels like Anubis, an Egyptian god, but his body is reclined on a torture device, propped up and looking away as if shamed by his current state. The intricate detail shows the work of a master artisan.

Dickson hopes future civilizations will dig up La Grasse’s art, alongside his own forged work, and wonder about the long-forgotten people who crafted such imaginative and wondrous artifacts.