It has been a while since we sent out an update, so we have lots to share as you can see in our summer recap below. Before we get to the summary, though, we wanted to let you know we have several events coming up in the next month or so:
- First, we are blacksmithing at the Virginia Scottish Games over Labor Day weekend. This is a super-fun event that we've always tried to attend as spectators since we have ties to the Clan McPherson -- we love the athletic games, food, and the music! This year, though, we get to demonstrate as colonial blacksmiths. Black Forest ArtWorks (aka McPherson's Forge for this event) will be set up in the living history area.
- Also on September 22nd, we'll be blacksmithing at the Jefferson Patterson Park Museum, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., St. Leonard, Maryland.
- And, we wouldn't miss Claude Moore's Market Fair on October 20 and 21st from 11-4:30 both days. The Market Fair is always a great, kid-friendly event!
Please come out and visit -- we'd love to see you!
Don't let this nice photo of a lazy straw hat easily sunning itself fool you! Until we put together this note and saw all the stuff we have been doing, we thought this photo was a nice way to kick off our summer recap. Instead, maybe we should have used a jet or a speeding thoroughbred, but neither of those would be a natural fit for us and we happen to like the photo, so we will leave it in.
We hope you like the photo Caitlin took also because it does capture how we think we live, so please read on because it's been quite a summer for the Black Forest ArtWorks team.
While neither of us got all the items on our individual creative "to-do" lists anywhere near done (how exactly did I expect to write a cookbook when the kids were home from school?!), we did have a great time along the way.
Jeff has been blessed by some amazing blacksmithing opportunities this summer. He spent the better part of a week with artist and friend Nol Putnam in Penland and then enjoyed a great week at the action-packed ABANA conference in Rapid City, South Dakota.
We also blacksmithed our way through some amazing events at Old Wye Colonial Fair, Nanticoke River Jamboree and Claude Moore's Market Fair in May and July, as well as some smaller demonstrations for 4-H and other groups. The whole family had a wonderful time, meeting some incredible folks and educating people on the art and mystery of blacksmithing.
Jeff also got a chance to climb a 40-foot wall (something he didn't expect to do this summer, nor was it really on his wish list!) and fell in love with the art of basket-making. He also got to hear some great bluegrass music in the Shenandoah Valley (Jeff is in the front row, wearing his signature hat) and now wants to start demo'ing at bluegrass festivals--we'll see if that happens!
While Caitlin might not have been able to sit at the computer for the hours necessary to write her cookbook, she did manage to try her hand at icon-writing thanks to some very good teachers who were more than willing to help out (thank you, Jen and Lynda!).
She also taught about a hundred kids how to card wool at a Farm Skill's workshop. That was a fun challenge -- she's just grateful she didn't have the spinning station! She will need to practice with the drop spindle a bit more for that!
We are nowhere ready for the summer to be over, but we have lots of exciting plans for fall so please keep checking back on our blog for regular updates.
