BlacksmitHER Radio

This week I've got Haley Woodward and Colby Brinkman out of Austin Texas. To get a good idea of each of their forging skills have a look at each of their websites, www.Haleywoodward.com and www.metalmantis.com . We had a great conversation about the each of their blacksmithing backgrounds, the Austin Forging Competition they started, which by the way is coming up on April 21st and let me announce the competitors that will be there this year; Monica Coyne, John Rais and Steven Yusko, The Vasquez Brothers, Mike Rossi and Daniel Beck, JR Lodico, Jim Masterson and Logan Hirsh (2017 winners), Meagan Crowley and Elizabeth Brim, James Viste and Brad Nichols. Anyway, Haley and Colby talk about the infamous bus ride to Mexico and about their duo demo at the CBA Spring Conference.

And that brings us to our sponsor for today's episode and that's the 2018 CBA Spring Conference organizers.

To register, head over to www.calsmith.org and click on the events tab for the online registration button.

What We Talked About

• While Haley was in college when he took a sculpture class with a metal working component, after making several welded sculptures he searched for a blacksmithing college program to further his metal working skills. He found that Austin Community College offered a few blacksmith classes and moved to Austin for enrollment.
• Haley and Colby met on a college field trip to Mexico, actually a 37-hour bus ride to Santa Clara Del Cobre, Mexico for a 3-week copper smithing course.
• Colby's background also started with taking classes at the Austin Community College in 1995.
• Colby spent 2 years in Europe as a blacksmith apprentice, specifically with Joseph Muck in the Czech Republic, Sebastian Fisher in Spain and Claudio Bottero in Italy.
• Haley and Colby talk about how the Austin Metal Authority started, basically because they needed a name for a studio tour they participated in.
• The Austin Forging Competition is an annual event that Haley and Colby started in their Austin Metal Authority shop, they talk about how it has now moved to the Mobile Loaves Community site and has about 1000 attendees.

Guest Links

• Ernst Heinrich Haeckel "Art Forms in Nature" book on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Forms-Nature-Dover-Pictorial-Archive/dp/0486229874/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0486229874&pd_rd_r=01ZJJZGQ0DTFXCPY9ADB&pd_rd_w=IOZy7&pd_rd_wg=TCpO3&psc=1&refRID=01ZJJZGQ0DTFXCPY9ADB
• Colby Brinkman Website – metalmantis.com
• Haley Woodward Website – haleywoodward.com
• The Devil's Blacksmith Documentary -- https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-devil-s-blacksmith-documentary-arts--2#/

This is the Blacksmith Buzz Bulletin. Where you get the low-down about upcoming classes and events that are happening in the following month, I'm talking about March 2018 for this bulletin.

If you have an event or class you would like to submit, send an email to [email protected] and I will send you the details I need for the press release.

This is week I have a returning guest, Ellen Durkan, from Delaware. She's an incredibly talented artist blacksmith that has a line of metal dresses called Forged Fashion. She is also an adjunct professor at the Delaware College of Art and Design. She will be a demonstrator at the upcoming CBA Spring Conference and that also happens to be the sponsor for today's episode. This year is their 40th anniversary, so it's a big event and Dennis Dusek and his conference crew have been diligently planning for the past 6 months. They have a talented line up of demonstrators, Zeevik Gottlieb, Lynda Metcalfe, Ellen Durkan, Haley Woodword, Colby Brinkman, David Lisch. The dates are April 12th through the 14th and if you register before March 22nd the price is $165 for all 3 days. The venue will be the Eldorado County Fairgrounds in Placerville, California.

To register, head over to www.calsmith.org and click on the events tab for the online conference registration button.

What We Talked About

• Ellen is teaching drawing, 3D design and sculpture as an adjunct professor at the Delaware College of Art and Design.
• Besides teaching at the college, she is preparing for a performance style runway show of her iron fashion dresses in November. She is planning on having 15 to 20 models as well as a few aerial performers.
• Ellen tells us about her photo shoots with a professional photographer who is her friend, Joe, and how they come up with ideas for photographing Ellen's iron fashion pieces.
• Ellen is teaching and demonstrating more for 2018, she'll be in California, New Jersey, Virginia, New York and Buenos Aires Argentina.
• Ellen has an exhibition of her large-scale drawings that will be held at the Delaware Art Museum
• Also, she was recently awarded a $6000 art grant to help her put on her forged fashion runway show in November. The grant came from the Delaware Division of the Arts.

Guest Links

• Ellen's website - http://www.ellendurkan.com/
• Peter's Valley workshop - http://www.petersvalleyworkshops.bigcartel.com/product/fitting-forming-wearable-bustiers-and-chest-pieces
• Banton-Smith Center for Blacksmith and Metal Arts facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/BantonSmithCenter/
• Rochester Arc and Flame Center - https://www.rocafc.com/collections/blacksmithing-technique-blacksmithing/products/blacksmithing-workshop-5-days-with-ellen-durkan

For this episode I wanted to share an article from the latest Jan/Feb issue of the California Blacksmith Association magazine. It's about a CBA member, Serene Silva of Santa Cruz, travelling to Cuba in search of blacksmiths. She was awarded a grant from CBA for the trip and this article is part of her commitment to CBA in exchange for the grant. I love learning about blacksmith scenes in countries around the world and Cuba especially since it's such a mystery to most Americans because of the travel restrictions for us that have been in place for years.

Now I'd like to take the time to thank our sponsors for today's episode and that's the Eureka Springs School of the Arts, aka ESSA. It's a non-profit school located in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. This year, they are celebrating 20 years of teaching the arts! To see the complete list of classes for 2018, visit the website, http://essa-art.org/ or give them a call (479) 253-5384.

OK, here is the article titled "An American Blacksmith in Cuba" by Serene Silva.

This week I've got David Lisch, he's a blacksmith turned award-winning Master Smith knife maker, from Yelm, Washington. A respected innovator of unique guard designs and Damascus steel that can be seen in his beautiful knives. David has run a successful blacksmith business for 25 years in Seattle and now teaches at his school, Oak Grove Forging Facility in Yelm WA. He achieved a Master Smith rating from the American Bladesmith Society (ABS)in 2015 and is the 6th Master Smith in the state of Washington. Now you'll have to listen all the way to the end of the interview, because after I wrapped it up with Dave and we said our good bye's I always turn off the recorder and follow up with the guest to see how they thought it went. In this instance, I ended up asking Dave about the Forged in Fire comment he mentioned, so I turned the recorder back on and you could hear his Forged in Fire experience.

What We Talked About

• David now fills most of his time making high-end award-winning knives and teaching classes which fill up in 1 to 2 days after posting.
• He used to have a shop and school in Seattle for 15 years where he textured metal for Nordstrom's and other companies.
• When marijuana became legal in Washington state, the warehouse spaces quickly became grow houses and in turn, the rents were raised and warehouses for rent were hard to find.
• The increase in David's rent from $2500 to $3200 eventually made him move out and buy a property that had both a house and shop space.
• These days David is incorporating his sculptural side of blacksmithing to his blades. He recently sold a frog (for $10k) with a dagger coming out of his throat and a Damascus dragonfly on his tongue.
• David was introduced to Damascus at one of his friend's shops, where a few blacksmiths got together and made some damascus. Then at one of the NWBA (North West Blacksmith Association) annual conferences, he traded a hammer he made for some Damascus making stock. He started making Damascus before he ever made a blade!
• His first knife making class was from Bob Kramer in 2006.
• After joining the American Bladesmith Society he became an apprentice bladesmith, then passed his journeyman smith certification, then 5 years later passed his master smith certification.
• In his shop, he has 330lb Wolf Air hammer, 165 lb Wolf air hammer, 3 hydraulic presses, 10 grinders and 10 anvils.
• He has been a member of the NWBA for over 20 years and he and his wife have served on the board for 4 years.
• David will be demonstrating at the upcoming CBA Spring Conference and he will demo knife making for beginners (staghorn small knife with a 4 in blade) and have separate demonstrations for intermediate and expert knife makers. Including pinning on a wood handle for a kitchen knife, shaping guards and finishing techniques.
• He makes all of his own gas forges, they are 1 burner venture forges made from cut up oxygen tanks, 11 inches long. He says it's very important to coat the Kaowool inside your forge with a refractory castable cement. He uses Mizzou castable in his forges, you can find it online.

Guest Links

• Website - http://www.davidlisch.com/index.html
• Instagram - @davidlisch
• American Bladesmith Society Website - http://www.americanbladesmith.com/

A Big Thank You to today's sponsor – CBA Spring Conference, www.calsmith.org

If you enjoyed this episode, I would love it if you would support the show by:

• telling your friends.
• sharing this episode using the social sharing buttons below.
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Thanks so much for your support!

This is the Blacksmith Buzz Bulletin. Where you get the low-down about upcoming classes and events that are happening in the following month, though this month I'll be telling you about classes and events happening in January and Feb 2018. I've got a lot of schools and events lined up for the rest of the year coming at you every month.

If you have an event or class you would like to submit, send an email to [email protected] and I will send you the details I need for the press release.

This year is the bi-annual ABANA conference which will be held in Richmond Virginia June 27th – 30th, registration is open on the abana.org website.

Also, this year's CBA Spring conference is held in Placerville, CA, just outside of Sacramento, the dates are April 12th – 14th and registration just opened on their website, www.calsmith.org, this year it's $180 for the 3-day event.

As of Jan 1 Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, application process opens for the two blacksmith summer sessions they will be holding. The two classes are: on June 10th Patrick Quinn is teaching "Thinking Big, Working Small", it's a 2 week session. Workshop students will explore sculptural forms through forged, riveted, and mechanically fastened parts. Working with thin gauge plate and other small-scale industrial materials, focus and emphasis will be placed on creating small-scale sculptural pieces using joinery techniques, paired with inspiration from large-scale public works.

June 24-July 6, 2018 , Marc Maiorana, Heirloom Iron This workshop will teach students to create ironwares for the home that will stand the test of time.

DEADLINES:

March 1 for applicants seeking scholarship support for a workshop

April 1 for general workshop applications

Adam's Forge is a non-profit org founded in 2002. This organization offers a regular schedule of blacksmith and metalworking classes. They are starting a fundraising campaign to build a new forge home at the Heritage Square Museum in Los Angeles. This is a call for art from all the blacksmiths out there to help raise funds for the relocation and the new smithy building. They are hosting a one day annual festival for the public on Sunday, February 18th. You can donate hand-forged items that they can sell at the festival, be sure to add your touch mark and send it in before the end of January. Mail your metal donations to Adam's Forge at 2640 North San Fernando Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90065. This info will be in the show notes of this episode as well. They are also accepting cash donations and another donor has stepped up to match dollar for dollar donations, up to $5000! All of the details are on the Adam's Forge website which is www.adamsforge.org .

Guest Intro paragraph

This week I've got Evan Wilson from Austin, Texas who is the program director for the blacksmith shop at this nonprofit community organization called Mobile Loaves and Fishes. The Community Forge & Woodshop empowers their community of homeless members to engage in the creation of timeless crafts while also earning a dignified income. Through blacksmithing, woodworking and a range of other projects, the men and women in this Community Works program become part of a restorative journey toward social contribution, financial stability and a mastery of handcrafting skills.

Their craftsmen and artists receive 100% of the profit from the sale of their products, enabling them to become more settled and experience greater stability in Community First! Village. They also encounter a greater sense of purpose, healing, and friendships — foundational components of life that every person needs and deserves.

What We Talked About

• Evan talks about his experience being a striker for Claudio Bottero at the Florida Artist Blacksmith Association in October 2017, "like drinking from a fire hose".
• Mobile Loaves and Fishes is a nonprofit organization in Austin that started 19 years ago, they help feed and cloth the homeless population.
• The organization decided to build their own RV park to house the homeless and start a community centered program on 27 acres with 250 housing units.
• Within the community they have programs for the members to attend and learn form such as: animal husbandry, ceramics, glass blowing, leatherwork, painting, woodworking and blacksmithing.
• These programs provide a way to learn how to earn a dignified income, alternative economy. The community has a market and gift shop where they sell the wares of the members.
• Evan talks about his nonprofit background and how he worked for one in Afghanistan teaching English and helping with a Maternal and Infant Mortality program.
• He mentions his "Metal Mother" Dawn Raines (the Welding and Blacksmith director at Austin Community College) who taught him a lot in the beginning of his blacksmithing venture. Haley Woodward is another mentor he mentions who took him under his wing and helped a tremendous amount in building the community blacksmith program at Mobile Loaves and Fishes.
• Evan has now taken the reins of organizing the Austin Forging Competition that started in 2010. It used to be held at the Austin Forging Authority (Haley Woodward and Colby Brinkman's Shop) and in 2015 Evan mentioned they should hold it at the community Works workshop.

Guest Links

• Mobile Loaves and Fishes community Works Program link - - https://mlf.org/community-works/
• Instagram: @mobileloaves_communityforge

If you enjoyed this episode, I would love it if you would support the show by:

• telling your friends.
• sharing this episode using the social sharing buttons below.
• subscribing to the show and leaving a rating and review in iTunes. Not sure how? Just follow these simple steps here or watch the short video tutorial, http://youtu.be/rq4OCyRGjHc?list=UUH3MfNZLXlKgionAs6kMT_Q
• subscribing to the show in Stitcher, http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=54499&refid=stpr

Thanks so much for your support!

This week's guests are Shaun Williams and Sylvia Andrassy from Pampano Beach. FL. Shaun has been blacksmithing for 10 years and is the SE Regional coordinator of the Florida Artist Blacksmith Association. Sylvia was this year's FABA conference event coordinator. Together they have started a non-profit folk art school called the Guild Urban Craft and Folk Art School.

What We Talked About

• This FABA Conference that was held in the last weekend in October of 2017, had the highest attendance ever in FABA's entire history with 450 attendees.
• The conference had 6 specialty workshops and two demonstrator workshops by Lisa Johnson and Claudio Bottero.
• Shaun talks about his visit to Claudio's blacksmith shop in Italy.
• Sylvia tells us about her beginnings in blacksmithing 3 years ago and when Shaun asked her to go to a blacksmith conference as a date!
• Dark Angel Armory and Forge is Shaun's forging business, he also started teaching beginner blacksmithing and knife making classes from this location. The classes grew so fast that Shaun and Sylvia decided to start a Guild Folk Art School offering different types of "medieval" art classes; leatherworking, ceramics, jewelry making. The classes are booked 3 to 4 months in advance.
• The Guild also offers a monthly "membership" to the students who have taken previous classes.
• They recommend an inspiring artistic Italian blacksmith book, "La Magia de Febrero del Tutto Italiano Centro Fabra Milidia" or "The Magic of Italian Forged Artist, 100 Artist 1000 Ideas"

Links

• Florida Artist Blacksmith Association – blacksmithing.org
• The Guild Urban Craft and Folk-art school - https://www.guildfl.com/
• Dark Angel Armory and Forge – https://www.darkangelarmory.com/

If you enjoyed this episode, I would love it if you would support the show by:

• telling your friends.
• sharing this episode using the social sharing buttons below.
• subscribing to the show and leaving a rating and review in iTunes. Not sure how? Just follow these simple steps here or watch the short video tutorial, http://youtu.be/rq4OCyRGjHc?list=UUH3MfNZLXlKgionAs6kMT_Q
• subscribing to the show in Stitcher, http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=54499&refid=stpr

Thanks so much for your support!

This week's episode is a quick one! I'm a member of the California Blacksmith Association and receive the bi-monthly magazine which is expertly put together by Mike Mumford, he does a great job every time. The latest Nov/Dec issue he wrote an article about something he saw in the education tent at the last CBA 2017 Spring Conference. Kevin Lauritsen was demonstrating in the tent and was talking about the difference between right handed and left handed tongs and the reason for the design.

I've never thought about it and Mike Mumford says he's never thought about it either, so he went out to his shop and found that most of his tongs are right-handed, but found two bolt tongs that are left-handed. So, I too, went to my shop to see what I owned. I have 6 pairs of right-handed tongs made by Dennis Dusek, a few random tailgate pairs that are right handed and only two that are left-handed. Those two were made and given to me by Uri Hofi and Zeevik Gottlieb.

Here is what the article by Mike said:

• First, some really confusing terminology: The handedness of the tongs refers to the comfortable fit when held in your non-dominant hand.
• A right-handed person would hold right-handed tongs in their left, non-dominant hand.
• Right-handed tongs are designed to work best for a right-handed person.
• Start with the idea that the upper rein is held against the thumb and palm, while the fingers hold the lower rein.
• The more comfortable way to hold and release is that the lower rein is closer to the body, away from the palm. The lower rein naturally drops away as the fingers are released.
• The picture below shows right-handed tongs to be held in the left hand on top. Below them are left-handed tongs to be held in the right hand.

This is the Blacksmith Buzz Bulletin. Where you get the low-down about upcoming classes and events that are happening in the following month, I'm talking about December 2017 for this bulletin.

If you have an event or class you would like to submit, send an email to [email protected] and I will send you the details I need for the press release.

I have to apologize for not releasing this on Nov 1st, 5 days ago. I was visiting my family in Virginia Beach and before that, I attended the FABA conference in Ocala Florida watching the incredibly talented master blacksmith and sculptor Claudio Bottero who is from Italy.

• The conference began on Oct 27th and ended on the 29th and the demonstrators were Claudio Bottero, Lisa Johnson, a jewelry/metalsmithing director at an art center in Florida and Sam Salvati, a bladesmith from Maryland.
• It was so magical to watch Claudio and his son Massimiliano, aka Massy, forge an incredible human figure sitting on a throne. The whole sculpture ended up being about 5 ft tall.
• Claudio worked with strikers the whole time, using many different sized top and bottom fullers to shape the legs, head, face, arms and hands.
• In fact a lot of the fullers he was using (maybe a set of 10 sizes) were made by Dennis Dusek, who was there striking for him, along with others. Dennis has a great system for these fullers, he forges custom tongs that hold all 10 different sized inset fullers. You can private message him on Facebook or Instagram, Dennis Dusek.
• Sunday, Claudio taught a 6-hour masters class to 6 lucky students who were handpicked for the class. He taught them how to forge a hand and a finger. Anyone at the conference could watch the class, and see the progress of each of the students.
• One thing I picked up on was how Claudio always dunked his long-handled wire brush in water before he brushed the hot piece. He explained that the steam produced popped off the scale faster while brushing. I will be trying this because the end result was really clean metal.
• If you want to hear more about the conference, I'll be having Shaun Williams, the conference coordinator, on the show soon, a little something to look forward to. But if you want some instant gratification head over to the FABA facebook page for pics and videos of the conference.

Now onto the first announcement which is a special announcement about a possible upcoming Tire Hammer Building class, this announcement is to see much interest there would be for this class. Let me tell you the scoop and then you can decide if you would like to attend it:

Tire Hammer Build class instructed by Clay Spencer

The dates would be April 19th-22nd, with a pre-work session on the weekend preceding the workshop, they are shooting for about 12-15 participants with everyone leaving with a finished hammer

Held in Troy Ohio at the SOFA facility

Approximate cost $1500

If interested contact Mike Brennan at [email protected] by November 30th

Details will be available soon on the SOFA website at https://sofablacksmiths.org/

Payment should NOT be sent at this time. Just an email to express interest.