Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Forging a Piece for a Cradle and Community, Too!


About a month or so ago, we were contacted by someone who had found us on the Internet.  He had a new baby and wanted a piece forged for the baby’s cradle.  His grandfather had forged the original pieces and one was in need of replacement.  We have young kids and can easily recall those sleep-deprived first months, so Jeff got right on this request.


When Jeff reached out via email to discuss shipping the finished piece, the address that we received surprised us.  Jeff asked me if it sounded familiar…and it did…it was about 3 miles down the road.  That’s pretty incredible!  But, then, the address seemed even more familiar when the man gave us his last name for the shipping….


It turned out that this young family with a new baby was a family that we’d taken a meal to through our church’s food ministry just the week before!  We’d never met them before but our church has a wonderful ministry of providing meals to folks who could use a break so we’d signed up and Jeff had delivered supper.   He’d dropped off the food to the family….having no idea at all that he was also chatting with the husband via email about ironwork.  It was a funny, wonderful coincidence.   



Monday, February 17, 2014

Heart of Iron (But in a Really Good Way!)



Jeff forged the most beautiful heart as my Valentine’s gift.  Made out of 1/2 inch square bar with a twist on the two sides and whale tail ends for the point of the heart, it is a gorgeous piece.  It’s substantial, yet decorative…a lovely combination.  




He’ll probably continuing to work on this theme in the near future, so please let us know if you are interested in one for your home.  As always, you can email us at inquiries@blackforestartworks.com.   I am envisioning small Christmas ornaments or maybe a larger piece of sculpture for the garden as versions that I’d like to see.  




This heart, though, is hanging in our living room window.  Thank you, Jeff!


Thursday, February 13, 2014

Surprise! One of My Photos Arrives as a Brochure from AHS



When I looked through the mail yesterday afternoon, I was surprised to see one of my photos as part of a brochure from the American Horticultural Society!  I did know that they had used this photo in one of their brochures, so it wasn’t a bad surprise at all, but it it was still a bit of a shock to be ruffling through the bills and junk mail, etc…and see one of my photos in the mix!  


It was a good reminder that spring is on the way, despite the snow and freezing rain still coming down this morning.  I actually dug out the seed-starting equipment and am going to start some seeds this morning.   

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Eyes of Wonder on a Winter Walk



Getting out into nature with a child is an amazing experience….  it literally changes your perspective!