ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Jason Henry Anderson from JHA Works brought some heat to the Belmont County Fair while performing his blacksmithing techniques on Friday.

Anderson is visiting the fair for the first time this year and brought his blacksmith equipment to put on a demonstration for the community to see.

“I like it,” he said. “All fairs are different. All fairs are fun. You just have to feel the crowd.”

Anderson worked on heating a rose in his forge, which was set to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, before taking it out and texturing the petal of it and repeating the process.

Fair-goers could find Anderson at the fair from 3-9 p.m. Friday as he put on his demonstration, but they can also see him for the rest of the week at the fair until its end on Sunday.

Anderson came all the way from Greenville, South Carolina, to attend the fair. He travels to different fairs throughout the country, and his booking agency landed him this gig. This will be Anderson’s last fair of the year as well.

Anderson’s craft is ornamental blacksmithing, which is taking elements of metal and redirecting it into artforms that are functional for customers to use daily. Anderson ships his products worldwide and tours up and down the eastern seaboard from Florida to Maine, traveling the fair circuit.

Anderson described the process of his work as “long and hot.” He said he has to heat the metal up to where it is malleable and movable material, which is where the 1,800-degree forge comes in.

“I’m making sculptures,” he said. “”I’m taking a bunch of item demonstrations and plotting them together to make a sculpture.”

Anderson said he has already made a mushroom sculpture with a snail climbing to the top.

“On the way to the top. The view is always better from the top no matter how small of a world it is,” he noted.

Anderson’s work is up for auction at the fair, and he is personally selling his business T-shirts and gas tokens.

Anderson has been in the blacksmith business for 10 years but started working as a woodworker when he was 14. When working at a company with a blacksmith at age 40, the blacksmith invited him to his shop and showed him how to cut and reshape medals. That’s when Anderson said, “I’m done with wood. Let’s do this.”

Now, he has been working professionally as a blacksmith since 2019.

Anderson said he wanted to have his own career and profession, and once he saw people would pay him for it, he started working by himself. He loves the freedom and creativity that the job brings. He also appreciates clients who understand jobs take longer than two weeks to complete.

“I get to let the voices in my head run free,” he said. “Basically, the inner me is just able to be myself, create and let go.”

The fair, celebrating its 175th anniversary this year, continues through 5 p.m. on Sunday.