Shane Belanger — Having a Whale of a Time

Shane Belanger — Having a Whale of a Time - theHumm November 2024

By Sally Hansen

Art… and Soul

Pareidolia is the tendency to see faces or other patterns in response to an ambiguous visual stimulus. If you’ve ever spotted a hidden dragon in the clouds, or the man in the moon, you’ve experienced pareidolia.

Blacksmith artist Shane Belanger uses his extraordinary gift for detecting elusive creatures in the random patterns of wood. The Lanark Highlands artist exploits his innate ability to create striking wooden and steel sculptures. He combines incredibly shaped pieces of live-edge wood with hand-forged steel adornments such as teeth and fangs, creating inspired renditions of whales and fish and birds.

Some are massive — seven feet long and very whale-like! Most impressive is how natural, how organic, how perfectly at home they look hanging in a completely unnatural setting. They are awesome; each is a beautiful tribute to the wondrous creatures who share our fragile world, and to Shane’s innate artistry.

Belanger’s work is bold but meticulous. It is hard to keep your fingers off his compelling figures. Fortunately, you don’t have to. They are configured to withstand above-freezing outdoor weather, and many are displayed on patios and around swimming pools. It occurs to me that it would be tempting to convert an upscale swimming pool area into a marine-themed showcase. In addition to his stunning natural-finish pieces, he offers painted wooden sculptures for more rustic settings.

A member of the Ontario Blacksmith Artist Association, Shane creates his eye-catching hand-forged pieces from recycled steel, metals, and live edge woods from the Lanark Highlands, reimagining discarded materials into unique works of art. It has been three years since he has had to purchase steel, and he would be delighted to recycle your volunteered fireplace insert too.

Just six years ago, Shane’s wife Janice Egan gifted him with a three-day iron forging class. In two years he would be retiring from an arduous and highly stressful career as a project manager responsible for major industrial construction projects. He was battling an alcohol addiction, and at loose ends. The gift changed his life. By the end of the three days he knew he had found his future. He bought the propane forge, anvil, hammer and tongs that he needed, and began to practice. He started by fashioning red-hot steel into hooks and other basic objects From his construction work he understood the science of steel — how to manipulate and change it. He watched the History Channel’s “Forged In Fire” blacksmithing competitions. And he “practiced and practiced and practiced” to attain the skill required to fashion red-hot steel into the shapes he envisioned.

Eventually Belanger tired of making swords and hooks and metal bowls. He loved wood, and after buying a wooden whale, he realized he could “do better.” He did, and people loved them. He started selling them through word of mouth, and eventually sold over two hundred painted whales at numerous local craft markets. Somewhere along the way he learned how to select and work with a wonderful variety of live edge wood pieces that speak to his pareidolia. Now he is planning ahead to continue to indulge his physically demanding passion as long as his body allows — “I can always get a power hammer,” he confides.

Born in Belleville, he chose engineering at Loyalist College when his then girlfriend announced she wouldn’t marry anyone who didn’t go to college. He landed a job straight out of school as a construction foreman in Ottawa, and stuck with a stressful and largely unfulfilling career until he retired. “My mother was a painter, and I always felt a creative urge,” he told me. “It used to drive me crazy working with architects — they got to be both engineers and artists at the same time.” Now he is so fulfilled by his blacksmithing and wood artistry that he no longer struggles with an alcohol addiction.

His new career is very therapeutic. When I comment that his prices are extremely modest, he explains that his real satisfaction comes from having someone enjoy one of his original artworks in their home. No two are alike. He hammers metal components out in an oak stump, so each piece is organically shaped, and the mutating stump is discarded as it succumbs to the heat and pressure. His stunning sculptures also enable him to contribute generously to causes he supports. The whale he donated to the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (a public charity that supports ocean conservation) was successfully auctioned off to raise funds for the protection of fin whales.

When I asked about the unusual name — Gaibhnithe Wood and Steel — on his business card and email address, he explained that both he and Janice have Irish ancestry, and Gaibhnithe is the Gaelic word for forge, or forging. Janice manages the business side of their after-retirement adventure, and Shane reports that she is also a discerning critic.

The couple enjoy the social aspects of their artistic venture. Each show is a new adventure, with new customers and fellow artists. Recently Shane Belanger joined the ranks of the Artisan Village — Smiths Falls’ burgeoning cultural hub — and he is having a whale of a time as one of their “Creative Residents”. He and Janice appreciate the collegial atmosphere, and the large central showroom is the perfect venue for his stunning artworks. He also is a member of Arts Carleton Place’s new Art Hub.

Itty Bitty Whales

Belanger has created a scaled-down version of his phenomenal whale sculptures, and will be displaying them on November 16 and 17 at the Arts Carleton Place Itty Bitty Artisan & Art Show in the Great Hall of the Carleton Place Arena. I checked, and he is offering his “baby whales” for less than $200. Way less, in some cases. Regardless of your budget, you will enjoy browsing his sculptures and the creations of a wonderful assortment of the area’s artists and artisans.

Forge ahead to view coordinates to Shane Belanger’s outstanding artistic achievements itemized on the back of his Artist Trading Card at the top of this page. And look forward to a whale of a time next spring at Artisan Village — he’s working on a walrus, and has chosen an octopus as his next challenge.

Artist Trading Card

WHO Shane Belanger, Gaibhnithe Wood and Steel

WHAT Blacksmith Artist

WHERE Artisan Village, 10 Maple Ave., Smiths Falls, artisanvillagesmithsfalls.com , 613-619-4155, facebook.com/gaibhnithe.woodandsteel ; gaibhnithe@gmail.com

WHEN Nov. 16 & 17, 10am–4:30pm, Itty Bitty Artisan & Art Show, Great Hall on the upper floor of the Carleton Place Arena, 75 Neelin St., Carleton Place

WHY “It’s so much better than alcohol.”