by Phil Houseal, (Kerrville TX) Community Journal Oct 1 2008Everyone knows what skill it takes to flake an arrowhead from flint. But making a stone toothpick?
That is one of the actual pieces created by a flintknapping instructor at the Club Ed Arrowhead Making course.
Local jeweler Jim Morris, who has taught flintknapping at Club Ed for at least a decade, is excited that he will have a very special guest instructor at his Oct. 4 class in Kerrville.
That would be John Kiernan, the internationally-known arrow point specialist.
"I think he is one of the world's greatest pressure flakers," Morris said. Kiernan is so respected in the lithic arts that he was featured on the flintknappers calendar this year.
Kiernan's work is so intricate it is collected as art - something previously unheard of in the world of stonework. He starts with the classic form of arrowheads and spear points, but refines them into eccentrics - intricate and delicate decorative forms that swirl and end in graceful balanced flutes. The reclusive artist engraves his name into every piece with a diamond stylus, partly to ensure no one mistakes them for ancient creations. Morris notes that most serious flintknappers are also amateur archeologists and have great respect for maintaining the historic record.
Amateur flintknappers already seek one of the limited seats in Morris's popular classes. Morris can claim credit as a pioneer in the field of modern arrowhead making. He first fell in love with the stone tools in 1952, and spent years studying the leftover flakes of flint and stone in order to unlock the secrets of how the natives made them. He has written a book explaining the process, and has taught hundreds of students his techniques.
Morris is known in the field for utilizing the same tools and raw materials used by the ancients.
Morris promises other surprises in the all-day workshop. He expects visits from Paul Stein and David Calame, both presidents of the Texas State Amateur Archeological Association.
Since flintknappers support research and interest in archeology, Morris invites all students to bring their own arrowhead collections. The instructors will help identify and classify them, even as they strive to recreate them.
But the goal of the workshop is to have each student produce a finished piece by the end of the day. That is a challenge, as it takes 300 blows to make a typical arrowhead, and any one blow can shatter the stone.
But it is a challenge every true flintknapper embraces, even knowing his first attempt may not be a work of art.
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To see more of John Kiernan's art:
http://lithiccastinglab.com/gallery-pages/2002maykiernanpage2.htm
Jim Morris will teach Arrowhead Making on Saturday, Oct 4. To learn more about this and hundreds of other lifelong learning classes, call 830-895-4386, or visit www.clubed.net.
Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com.
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