Jim Barnes holds one of the four 40-pound bronze handles that were cast in September in Indianapolis at the Sincerus Bronze Art Center.
First impressions matter. As you can imagine, every part of the new Shrine for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has been meticulously designed and fabricated, even down to the handles of the entryway doors.
These are not ordinary handles. These handles are quite large, solid bronze, and weigh about 40 lbs. each. Through an amazing sequence of events, the handles were cast in Indianapolis, Indiana with the last one completed on Sept. 26, 2024.
Here’s the story. Payam Towfigh is a Bahá’í in Winnipeg, Canada, and the current owner of State Industries. Through business connections, Payam became friends many years ago with Indianapolis resident Jim Barnes and asked Jim to be the Midwest sales representative of his company. While attending an annual sales meeting in September 2001, Jim was stranded in Winnipeg for ten days following the 9/11 attack and the shutdown of air travel after the tragedy. While in Winnipeg, Jim met many Canadian Bahá’ís and started to learn more about the Faith. In the years following 9/11, Jim was in Chicago for a tradeshow. While he was in the area, Payam took Jim to the Bahá’í House of Worship in nearby Wilmette. Jim became interested in the Faith and connected with local Bahá’ís upon his return to Indianapolis. He hosted Ruhi books 1, 2, 3, and 4 in his home and helped organize many Race Unity Day celebrations at the Indianapolis Bahá’í Center, awarding honorific plaques he fabricated at some of these events.
StateCraft, a division of State Industries in Winnipeg, specializes in architectural fabrications, but lacks expertise casting bronze or brass. Jim’s background in metal castings and art allowed him to develop new products over the past 20 years, including some metal signage for Gardens at The Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa, Israel.
Because StateCraft had already done work for The Bahá’í World Centre, Hossein Amanat, architect of the Shrine for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, asked Payam if State Industries would be interested in fabricating the bronze handles for the shrine. After receiving a very high quote from a company in Toronto, Payam asked Jim for additional ideas on suppliers. Jim suggested that he directly supervise the job, and that StateCraft should not outsource the work on the handles. StateCraft agreed this was the best and most cost-efficient option.
Jim took over every aspect of the casting project, which included sub-contracting with a Noblesville, Indiana company to 3D print wax handle patterns, and working with an Indianapolis-based artisan bronze casting company, Sincerus Bronze Art Center. For each handle, the workers at Sincerus dipped a wax handle form multiple times in a ceramic slurry that was then dried and fired to make a mold (the wax melts away in the process). Molten bronze is poured into the mold which cools and forms the handle. After the mold is broken off, the bronze handle is removed and polished to remove any blemishes, connection points and flaws. A surface patina is added later. The entire process is time consuming, requires a high degree of skill, and must be repeated for each handle. Through Jim’s involvement, the four handles were produced at a fraction of the cost of the original estimate.
The first handle was shipped in late October to Toronto, where it was fitted onto the one-ton door made by another company owned by a Bahá’í. Payam commented that with so much thought, care and precision given to the doors and handles, he would be amazed by the workmanship featured in the rest of the Shrine.
An inspiring aspect of this story is how the Bahá’í Faith and the House of Justice utilized the talent and passion of a friend of the Faith and enabled his unique contribution to the Shrine of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Jim Barnes, while perhaps not fully aware of the immense spiritual significance of the Shrine, brought his unique skills and talents to this project as his own act of love and service to others, which reflects all that the Shrine is meant to honor.
Bahá’í World News Service, April 2024:
Shrine of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Work begins on building systems and exterior surfaces
