Lucas Damen, 34, of Naples is an apprentice at the Portland Forge, located in the old Portland Co. complex in Portland’s East End.
Born and raised in Amsterdam, Damen remains a Dutch citizen, but is married to a U.S. citizen.
He has been at the forge for eight months of what will be a five-year apprenticeship, learning the trade of a traditional blacksmith.
Damen worked as a machinist for about six years, but found the work “soulless” and yearned for a vocation in which he could express his creative nature.
“It is the connection to the past, the connection to humanity 1,500 years ago” said Damen about some of the appeal of the work at the forge. “It is great to be able to create thing with your hands, the way it was done then.”
Damen said that there really isn’t anything that he doesn’t like about his job, although he says that it is physically taxing work.
Damen has a business making jewelry, and eventually he would like to have his own forge, where he could continue to create things with his hands.
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