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 C.Carl Jennings 

Early Life

C.Carl Jennings was born Cecil Carl Jennings on April 10, 1910 to John W. Jennings and Debbie May Cox in Williamson County, Illinois. His mother never quite recovered from childbirth and passed away when Carl was just 7 months old. He was then raised by his paternal Grandmother who had given birth to 12 children with whom only 8 made it to adulthood she then died when he was just 16 years old. After moving in with his Father and Step Mother they made their way to Chico, California where Carl’s Father John would get a job at PG&E. On May 20, 1928 Carl joined his Father at PG&E and became a 3rd generation blacksmith like his Father and his Father’s Father before him.

Education

Carl also enjoyed drawing and every Saturday while he was working in San Francisco with his Father he would go to Walburst, Walburt's Art Supply  on Market Street purchase art supplies and visit with the man who encouraged him to enroll at the California College of Arts and Crafts. Where he would later meet his future wife Elizabeth Anne Gallaghan. He completed his 3 year course at CACC.

Personal Life

Carl and Elizabeth married April 13, 1935. They would go on to have one child, a son. Milton Jennings was born in 1939. In 1947 after about 19 years working for other people he built and opened Diablo Forge in Lafayette California where he did mostly repair work and some art pieces. He trained and taught his son Milton blacksmithing where Milton would often assist his Father completing commissions and Elizabeth ran her own Nursery.

Milton's real passion later became pottery which he, Carl and Milton's wife Donna would all sell their art pieces at booths Carl made by hand. I.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Obtained her Bachlers in Art with a minor in Botany. She had wanted to become a school teacher and that's when she attended CACC but utl=malty gave up her career path in exchange to become not only a housewife and mother but also Carl's muse and walking advertisement for his jewelry.

Blacksmithing

The move to Sonoma is where he was really able to focus on what he wanted to do with his metalsmithing. and in 1977 Carl would become one of the original 17 founding members of the Californian Blacksmith Association (CBA). He was also an active member of ABANA.

Invention of a Technique

Seameless Forms using Iron

The "Round House"

n July 1968 he sold Diablo Forge and purchased 5 acres of undeveloped land in Sonoma, California where him and Elizabeth designed and built their famous round house (which took them 5 years to move into). It was Elizabeth’s idea for the house to be round and she constructed all the botany and landscaping on the property to accent the house this would become an integral part making the house and landscaping a complete work of collaborative art

Family

Carl would go on to have 2 grandchidren and 4 great granchildren. He also taught one of his Grandsons blacksmithing before Elizabeth passed away in 1997 and Carl remained a very social and active person until his last breath in 200, he was 93 years old and spoke often of not having enough time to get done all the things he wanted to. His son Milton would follow his Father in death in 2015 from complications due to Leukemia. He has art in at least 7 museums and has had two exhibits and 1 book featuring his art and life since his death. His life and legacy will live on through those who knew and loved him as well as his art and those he taught.

C.Carl Jennings was born Cecil Carl Jennings to John W. Jennings and Debbie May Cox on April 10, 1910 in Williamson County, Illinois. He married Elizabeth Anne Gallaghan April 13, 1935 in Washoe County Nevada.

Awards

Carl won several awards and was featured in many magazines and articles which included being interviews by the Smithsonian and being named Sonoma County California’s Featured Treasured Artist of 1998. He worked with many mediums making, furniture, gates, jewelry, sculpture (where he invented the seamless hallow form using iron), he also did fabrication, commissioned art, varies functional pieces to name just a few.