ABANA Chapter Liaison Letter, June 2000 The 2000 ABANA Conference is fast approaching and there is still time for registration! Whether you are attending or cannot make it to Flagstaff, plan to attend as many of the local and regional conferences this year as possible. I am constantly reminded that as many times as I have watched a seemingly simple forging procedure, each smith does it differently and I learn something new each time. With the growth of the craft over the twelve years I have been associated with it, there are growing numbers of fine smiths demonstrating at every event. Check out as many as you can! The British Artist Blacksmiths Association passed along a copy of their re-designed publication to me and hopefully to the Chapter Presidents and Newsletter Editors. Looking at this publication reminded me of many things, not the least of which is that smithing has a true and growing international face. With forge-ins and other events not only in the British Isles and Germany, where smithing associations have a long tradition, now there are new groups forming in Poland, the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Australia, Iceland and South Africa. Smiths are now giving freely of their skills and knowledge all over the world and we are all the richer for it. Over the coming years we will see groups form and spread the word of smithing from other cultures and countries, bringing new and different ideas to us. One of the long-term goals of ABANA is to expose our members to these smiths at our conferences. So, as you attend this and future ABANA events and see a nametag from another county, welcome them as the brother or sister that they are. Speaking of sisters, I had the pleasure of visiting the National Ornamental Metal Museum in Memphis, Tennessee last month and viewed the current show "Ironing: Women's Work", on display until July 23, 2000. The exhibit features the work of 14 women artists working predominantly in forged steel and cast iron. It is a very strong show and has captured good local and regional reviews. The show contains works from both established artists, who consistently bring challenging and fresh ideas to their sculpture, and new faces making their first strong statement. The show is well worth the time to see if you are anywhere close to Memphis. For more information check out the web site at www.metalmuseum.org.
The message below was passed to me by Dona Meilach. If you own this book, please be sure to make this correction. If you don't, find it and buy it, it belongs on every smith's bookshelf. Over the years we have seen persons and groups working to preserve the works, related papers, and memories of many fine smiths. These efforts have resulted in books, slide collections and other forms of preservation of the skill and craftsmanship of such artists for future generations of smiths and those who appreciate their work. Josh Kravett, of Howell, NJ, has taken another approach. Last year, he discovered that the successor to Fisher and Norris, the Company that made Fisher anvils, was vacating the factory and about to scrap anything that was not "valuable" for auction. Bottom line, Josh now has all the remaining casting molds, paperwork and other documentation that preserves this important contribution to blacksmithing technology and has made contact with several former workers and family members to further document this company. He is working on developing a museum of this company to preserve the tools that they made and the knowledge and history associated with them. Josh will have a letter in the next Anvil's Ring, and we will hear more from him in the future. Josh will also be at Flagstaff, and loves to talk about Fisher and Norris. There is still time to run for ABANA Board, the deadline being July 15, 2000 for applications to be received in the Central Office. Feel free to bring them to Flagstaff, as LeeAnn will be accepting nominations at the ABANA booth at the Conference. Remember, to nominate an ABANA member for the Board we need a list of ten nominating ABANA members and their signatures, a statement by the nominee and a small photo suitable for reproduction. Starting in August the Chapter Newsletters may be submitted in electronic form to the ABANA Library located at the National Ornamental Metal Museum. Details will be available with the next liaison letter. I have been receiving some newsletters as well, and I thank the chapters for sending them to me. However, if you want them added to the Library, please send them to the National Ornamental Metal Museum, 374 Metal Museum Drive, Memphis, TN 38106-1539. Next month's letter will be out in late July or early August, as I will write it after the Conference and the election ballots will be the first order of business upon LeeAnn's return to the Central Office. I hope to see and talk to as many of you as possible at the Conference. Safe and productive forging to you all!
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