This past Saturday, I was invited to briefly visit Quadstate Conference 2012, a massive blacksmiths conference put on in Troy, OH by Southern Ohio Forge and Anvil (SOFA).  This was my first time attending any sort of blacksmith function at all, let alone a huge conference like this one.  I was so grateful to be able to duck in as a guest to see what these shindigs are all about.  

Man, was I impressed.  Demos going on all the time... a ton of great tools for sale... a gallery full of absolutely beautiful work by attendees... and the nicest people you'd ever want to meet.  

You can bet that next year I'll sign up for the weekend pass.  If you're anywhere in the midwest and you're crazy for this kind of stuff like I am, then you'd better put it on your radar for next year, too.

I love that shot of John in the mirror :-) 

OK, fasten your seat belts... this one can only be presented with a video.  It's a simply amazing piece of hand crafting by Barry Wheeler.  Enjoy... and try to imagine creating that shoe by hand!

And a few more shots of some great work displayed in the conference gallery this weekend.  Once you click on the first one, you can cycle through them with your right arrow key.

Blacksmiths landing on this page may also be interested in foldforming.  
Check out this index page leading to detailed posts about the recent Charles Lewton-Brain conference on Foldforming.  It contains a wealth of pics, video, and a student's view (mine) of that amazing conference.   

And this is the official foldforming group on Facebook created especially for metalsmiths and blacksmiths interested in foldforming:  http://www.facebook.com/groups/foldforming .  If your Facebook page reflects your metal interests, I will approve your application to join.  If it doesn't, message me (or comment on this post) to fill me in on your metal related work.   

Please check us out!

Again, Quadstate Conference is presented by Southern Ohio Forge and Anvil.  Maybe I'll see you there next year!

Where can you find me?  Thought I'd share.
Things are getting interesting.   

What's up in the workshop lately?

It's been a busy week.  These are some of the cuffs I've been working on -- finished ones to the left, and a pile of just-started ones to the right.  There is also a half finished foldform pendant underway, a big one that is turning out super cool; will try to post it next week.

I also HAVE to share my latest thrift store find.  This monster vise was TEN BUCKS.  OMG.

So. Much. Fun.

My friend Emily will receive this necklace (and a couple of other trinkets) in a few days as a thank you for being such a wonderful friend.  This piece is a little bit different than anything I've done, thanks to Emily.  I was really trying to come up with something new, inspired by her complete and total love of life.  Hope she likes it.

The flower portion of this foldform pendant is a Heistad Cup.  The main pieces are copper, soldered together and then fumed for a couple days to grow a nice blue/green patina.  The wire work is sterling silver and the gemstones are Aventurine.  It's on 24" long copper chain.  

Thanks to my sweet daughter Kathy for modeling :-)