Visiting Artist Series Brings Leading Blacksmiths and Metalsmiths to Center for Metal Arts

FLORIDA, N.Y. - Jan. 30, 2015 - PRLog -- The Center for Metal Arts has invited a series of fine metals artists to hold exciting new workshops in blacksmithing and small metals in 2015. The year begins with five special offerings: Mokume-gane with Dan Neville, Blacksmithing for the Sculptor with Fred Crist, A Spatula Worth Flipping Over with Seth Gould, Door Knocker with Haley Woodward, and Collaborative Sculpture with Jake James. Beginning to advanced level students will learn from the masters through hands-on work, demos, and discussion. These project-based workshops are a practice in process and technique for students to incorporate into their own studio work.

The visiting artist series is part of CMA's ongoing mission to add diverse topics and talents to the foundation curriculum. The small group setting allows direct one-on-one studio time with a skilled contemporary metals artist, allowing each student to work from the skill level they bring to the class.

Small Metals Program: Dan Neville and Mokume-gane / MAR 6-8, 2015: This class focuses on the creation and patterning of mokume-gane, an ancient Japanese technique developed to decorate samurai swords over 300 years ago. Students begin by preparing and laminating a billet of copper and brass. Patterns are then created through carving, drilling, and grinding. Forging and rolling produces the final sheet of patterned metal.

Dan Neville is a graduate student at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale (SIUC) and first learned to make mokume-gane at the age of 17. Dan has taught numerous workshops focused on forming and alloying metal. In the summer of 2014, he taught a full semester class at SIUC with emphasis on mokume-gane and pattern development. See his work at www.centerformetalarts.com/dan-neville.html.

Blacksmithing Program: Fred Crist and Blacksmithing for the Sculptor / MAR 27-29, 2015: In this hot forging class students will learn basic forging techniques to create sculpture, with special focus on process and joinery in both physical and theoretical contexts. Students will learn the possibilities of manipulating and shaping hot metal as they form a sculpture of their own.

Frederic Crist has worked as a sculptor and metalsmith for 36 years. A graduate of Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts), he was a blacksmith and craftsmen at highly regarded Samuel Yellin Metalworkers for 11 years before setting up his own studio in 1989. Credentials include a Sculpture Fellowship from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, a commission in the Ukraine to create sculpture for the city of Ivano-Frankivsk, and exhibits at the American University Art Museum, Art Museum of the Americas, and Philadelphia Art Museum Craft Show. His work is featured in Metal Design International 2014 and can be viewed at www.facristmetalsmith.com.

Blacksmithing Program: Seth Gould and A Spatula Worth Flipping Over / May 1-3, 2015: Students will learn to forge, refine, and embellish utilitarian objects using the format of a kitchen spatula with emphasis on forging as much of the finished product as possible. Forging techniques will include separating mass, spreading, drawing out, punching, drifting, and general controlled hand forging. At the bench, students will refine and embellish the piece using filing techniques and hammer & chisel wire inlay.

Seth Gould is a metalsmith and toolmaker working in Cleveland, Ohio. He received his BFA in 2009 from the Metalsmithing and Jewelry Design program at Maine College of Art before accepting a Core Fellowship at the Penland School of Crafts. Seth's work has been exhibited internationally and he has taught, demonstrated, and lectured at institutions including Peter’s Valley School of Crafts, Penland School of Crafts, Southern Illinois Metalsmithing Society, and the Society of North American Goldsmiths. He now works from his own shop developing a small production line of tools, fulfilling commissions, and making his own body of work; see www.sethgould.com.

Blacksmithing Program: Haley Woodward and Door Knocker / May 23-24, 2015:  This class will use the production of a doorknocker to illustrate a variety of blacksmithing techniques. All work will be done hot at the anvil, cleaned up with the file, and then assembled. Topics include isolation of mass, hot cutting, butchering, forging tenons, forging brass, and the forging of both precision fit and moving parts.

Haley Woodward has been blacksmithing professionally since 2001 and holds a Master of Fine Arts in Metal Arts from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Now an adjunct professor in Metal Arts at Austin Community College (Austin, TX), Haley teaches blacksmithing courses that range from introductory skills to sculpture. Many craft schools and organizations across the U.S. have invited Haley to exhibit, teach, or demonstrate technique, including the Penland School of Craft, Forging on the River in Memphis TN, and the Artist Blacksmithing Association of North America. See his work at www.haleywoodward.com.

Blacksmithing Program: Jake James and Collaborative Sculpture / May 31-June 6, 2015: Students will work together to design and build a large sculptural piece under Jake’s guidance. Participants will work on small forging teams, with each team responsible for separate elements of the sculpture. All teams will then collaborate to bring those elements together and complete the whole piece. Exploring the plasticity of hot iron and expressive possibilities of heavily forged materials will form the foundation of this week-long class.

Jake James is an award winning British born and educated Blacksmith with over a decade of success creating functional and sculptural work in forged metal. His vision is to create an experience with forged iron that will bring the ethos of a manufactured eco-system to the project, where interaction with the forged metal becomes a sensory experience that reaches beyond the realm of mere surface adornment. Jake operates his forge from Vancouver Island's inspirational west coast to create large architectural commissions to small and personal sculptural works. View his work at www.jakejames.ca.

Visiting artist workshops through the summer include Custom Clasps with Alison Antelman, Foldforming for Vessels with Charles Lewton-Brain, Raising with Dan Neville, and Salt Etching Steel with Ben Dory. In the fall, look for Chasing and Repousse with Jason York and an opportunity to learn from metalsmith Tom Muir.

The Center for Metal Arts is a community of metal artisans, makers, and students exploring new skills or mastering advanced techniques in the metal arts. Located in New York's picturesque Warwick Valley, CMA is accessible by bus from NYC, and major highways and airports.

Small Metals calendar and registration: http://www.centerformetalarts.com/small-metals-workshops.....
Blacksmithing calendar and registration: http://www.centerformetalarts.com/blacksmithing-workshops...