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New Address for Black Forest ArtWorks Blog
The address for our blog is changing. Please check out the new site for recent photos of our 1st demo for the 2014 spring season. We had a great time!
Also, please click on this link to subscribe to the blog via a reader.
Thank you!
Announcing Our Spring and Summer Demo Schedule!
As spring begins, we are working at Mount Vernon and Jeff is teaching blacksmithing classes before the summer heat arrives. If you are interested in a class or two, this is the time to do it! We are still finalizing some details, but this is how our spring and summer demo schedule is shaping up:
April 26 - 14 Fairfax Civil War Day (10 a.m. - 5 p.m.) in Fairfax, Virginia. This is a new event for us, but we are excited to participate in support of Historic Blenhein. Plus, with cannons, living history encampments, period music by "Home Front," tours of the Historic Blenheim House and grounds, hayrides, and more, it looks like a lot of fun!
May 3 - Wye Colonial Fair (10 a.m.-3 p.m.) in Wye Mills, Maryland. This will be our 3rd year demo'ing at this lovely church festival, complete with wagon rides, a May Pole, good food, children's activities, a Blessing of the Animals service and a beautiful church building. Last year, my kids learned to make char cloth at this event....we are excited to see what this year brings!
May 18-19 - Claude Moore Colonial Fair (11 a.m. - 4 p.m.) in McLean, Virginia. Our longest-standing demo, we don't miss a fair! Fencing, great food, wonderful children's activities, very nice plants for the garden, all on a small-scale so it is enjoyable for everyone.
June 7 - Raiders and Invaders (12 p.m. - 6 p.m.) in Leonardtown, Maryland. This War of 1812 commemoration looks to be a lot of fun! The event is June 6-8, but we'll only be demo'ing on the 7th.
From the event's website: "Site of no great battles but with a whole lotta raiding going on by those ornery British, the war years of 1813 and 1814 were pretty much a bummer for local folks. Two centuries later, let us harken back to those years of raiding and invading. We’ll bring you some serious history, but we’re throwing-in more than a dollop of tongue-in-cheek fun. Find street theater, circus arts and invasion route boat tours—plus our own British Invasion—1960s style!"
June 21-22 - War of 1812 Fair and Reenactment (10 a.m.- 4 p.m., with evening activities on the 21st) at Jefferson Patterson Park, Maryland. We've done this War of 1812 Commemoration the past two years, but this is a bigger, 2-day event that promises to be amazing. We've seen their reenacted battles before and they do it well!
July 19-20 - Claude Moore Colonial Fair (11 a.m. - 4 p.m.) in McLean, Virginia.
August 13-16 - ABANA National Conference in Harrington, Delaware. Jeff is on the board of ABANA, but even if he wasn't, he'd be attending the conference. It's a great way to see many different types of blacksmithing -- what a learning experience!
August 23 - The Battle of Bladensburg Commemoration in Bladensburg, Maryland (11 a.m. - 5 p.m., with additional evening activities). This is our final 1812 event of the summer season and it promises to be a good one, complete with fireworks over the Anacostia River!
We are happy to share this video of Jeff with you. It was made by Brian Szymanski and we think he did a fabulous job! Thanks, Brian!
Forging a Piece for a Cradle and Community, Too!
About a month or so ago, we were contacted by someone who had found us on the Internet. He had a new baby and wanted a piece forged for the baby's cradle. His grandfather had forged the original pieces and one was in need of replacement. We have young kids and can easily recall those sleep-deprived first months, so Jeff got right on this request.
When Jeff reached out via email to discuss shipping the finished piece, the address that we received surprised us. Jeff asked me if it sounded familiar...and it did...it was about 3 miles down the road. That's pretty incredible! But, then, the address seemed even more familiar when the man gave us his last name for the shipping....
It turned out that this young family with a new baby was a family that we'd taken a meal to through our church's food ministry just the week before! We'd never met them before but our church has a wonderful ministry of providing meals to folks who could use a break so we'd signed up and Jeff had delivered supper. He'd dropped off the food to the family....having no idea at all that he was also chatting with the husband via email about ironwork. It was a funny, wonderful coincidence.
Heart of Iron (But in a Really Good Way!)
Jeff forged the most beautiful heart as my Valentine's gift. Made out of 1/2 inch square bar with a twist on the two sides and whale tail ends for the point of the heart, it is a gorgeous piece. It's substantial, yet decorative...a lovely combination.
He'll probably continuing to work on this theme in the near future, so please let us know if you are interested in one for your home. As always, you can email us at [email protected]. I am envisioning small Christmas ornaments or maybe a larger piece of sculpture for the garden as versions that I'd like to see.
This heart, though, is hanging in our living room window. Thank you, Jeff!
Happy Valentine's Day!
Surprise! One of My Photos Arrives as a Brochure from AHS
When I looked through the mail yesterday afternoon, I was surprised to see one of my photos as part of a brochure from the American Horticultural Society! I did know that they had used this photo in one of their brochures, so it wasn't a bad surprise at all, but it it was still a bit of a shock to be ruffling through the bills and junk mail, etc...and see one of my photos in the mix!
It was a good reminder that spring is on the way, despite the snow and freezing rain still coming down this morning. I actually dug out the seed-starting equipment and am going to start some seeds this morning.
Blacksmithing Doesn't Stop in the Winter
Some might think that the winter is a slow time around here, and it it true that we aren't spending every weekend teaching at a demo. But, Jeff is still plenty busy in the forge. He's teaching quite a bit, and also working on a bunch of commissions.
We haven't done a very good job of documenting the work, but he and his friend Vince have made seven rookers (a very popular holiday gift this year, it seems!), a fireplace shovel, a colonial shovel, four ladles with copper cups, angled shelf brackets for bar top (complete with twists and hooks for purses), a lot of leaf hooks, and several colonial cooking forks.
Vince has also made a lot of shoe/boot/hoof picks, in between all the other projects. Next up on the list are some hinges, a set of 2 1/2 inch-wide legs for a table made from a ship's hatch, and stands for two small gargoyles.
Jeff also really wants to spend some time on the ABANA curriculum grill this winter, as well.
And, we are starting to finalize the spring and summer demo season, so if you are interested, please let us know!
