Carlos Nielbock is a Master Craftsman in architectural ornamental metalwork and design. He learned his craft as an apprentice in a German monastery, then trained further in the ancient Journeyman tradition. In this video he shows his replica of the 1862 World’s Fair welcome gate. It is a constant work-in-progress, and an intricate architectural piece that will take countless hours more to complete.

Nielbock brought his Low Altitude Wind Turbine to Maker Faire Detroit, which he boasts as being the only windmill designed and built in Detroit from locally sourced material.

He also has a passion for ancient bronzes from Benin, cast in the lost wax method. These were done before colonialism segmented West African culture and craftsmanship. Nielbock treasures them because of his own African roots and those of Detroit, the city he now calls home.

Subscribe to the MAKE Podcast in iTunes, download the m4v video directly, or watch it on YouTube and Vimeo.

Check out more videos from Maker Faire Detroit 2011.

More:

Profiling the tradesmen and women of the 21st century