The Guild of Metalsmiths 36th Annual Fall Conference

[Darryl Ponder]

You are invited to attend The Guild of Metalsmiths' 36th annual Fall Conference to be held at the Little Log House Antique Power Show grounds just south of Hastings, Minnesota from September 20 through September 22, 2012. If you are interested in blacksmithing or metalworking in general, this is the place to be!

The conference itself will consist of five or so main areas.

We have Mark Pearce and Clay Spencer each with their own fully equipped blacksmithing demonstration areas, giving live demonstrations for two days. These guys are some of the best smiths in the world and we have invited them to our conference as the main demonstrators this year.

We will have an art gallery set up where you can see some of the finest metalworking in the nation. I am always amazed at the quality of work shown in the gallery. Wow! The Guild has some truly world class artisans. Historical ironwork, modern ironwork, architectural pieces, blade work, art, jewelry, and on and on. Very high quality metal work shown by local smiths.

There is always an area set up for the family events. This year the family classes will be on jewelry ring making, tin repousse work, broom making, magnetic art, peg looms and the always popular "Found Art". In "Found Art" the participants take piles of what can only be described as metal "junk" and, finding their inner muse, turn it into some of the most amazing artwork. The teenagers always really like this family event because, under full supervision, they get to bend, twist, weld, grind and shape metal, many for the first times in their lives. The art that comes out of the "Found Art" class is always fun to see and often takes top dollar at our live auction fundraiser.

There is the main social area where we eat, drink and be merry. Catered food is available if you sign up for the meal plan or bring your own. There is a Friday night pot luck for good times and socialization.

We have a tailgating area where members sell all sorts of stuff such as anvils, vises, tools, metal, forges, benders, grinders, etc. Always an area that is fun to wander through, find treasures, barter, bargain and haggle. Fun!

We have a silent auction and a live auction. Find that piece of steel you need or make your spouse happy with finding that wonderful piece of jewelry (or toolbox) to bid on and win!

The most important aspect of the Fall Conference (aka the Metal Madness), is the people. Hey! We are a fun group and there is always much to talk about, socialize about, learn from or just hang out with.

There are hotels in the area and the site lends itself to camping, so we have a mix of what people choose to do; some that go home every night, some that camp and some that stay in hotels.

Registration is $35 per family for the weekend, $20 per family for a one day pass and the meal ticket for the weekend is $42. Meal ticket sign ups are due by September 2. You can register on site to attend, but need to pay in advance for the meal plan if desired - send a check to The Guild of Metalsmiths Box 11423, St Paul, MN 55111 by Sept 2nd for the meal plan.

Note! - for the hard core blacksmiths that consider the conference just not enough time of seeing hot metal, we will be running a special two day pre-conference (Sept 19-20) class on making a candelabra. Mark Pearce, one of the demonstrators for the main conference, will be showing registered students how to blacksmith this rather intricate piece and students will be at their own forges making the same piece. Cost of this special pre-Fall conference class is $170.

See The Forum pages three and four, for further details:

http://www.metalsmith.org/wp-content/up ... 3forum.pdf