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!

A Visit with Nol Putnam

We had the great pleasure recently of spending the morning with our friend and acclaimed artist-blacksmith/photographer, Nol Putnam.    He was featured as part of the 2013 Artists  of the Rappahannock Studio and Gallery Tour and we stopped by to show our support.  

It was a wonderful treat to spend some time with Nol — he’s a dear inspiration for both Jeff and myself (he’s the very reason I am learning to use a 35mm lens b/c of a simple email from him that unleashed an idea, which is why I am taking vertical pictures again after a 10 year hiatus!….) Nol has many more important honors, though, including creating several of the ironwork gates for the National Cathedral.  

And my kids love that his huge ironwork pieces can’t be broken, not that they were wrestling or anything after 3 hours of visiting!  

It was a gift to spend time with Nol — what a lovely morning. 

Wonderful Comments about Jeff's Candlesticks -- Thank you!

Recently, we received the nicest note from Kerry, who we met at the Scottish Games over Labor Day Weekend.  She had the following comments about two candlesticks made by Jeff that she purchased: ”It was a pleasure meeting you at the 2013 Virginia Scottish Games.  I just wanted to thank you for my beautiful candlesticks - they are perfect!  Attached, please find a couple of photographs of them…I am quite pleased with how nicely they fit in - I love your work/art.”

Thank you so much, Kerry!  We totally agree — the candlesticks look amazing in your house!

 

Caitlin's Photos are Available on Our Site

Thanks to some encouragement from our friends (Thanks, Jan and Scott!), we have updated our Blackforest ArtWorks site to include a store (click on “Store” on the left-hand side of our home page).  

At the moment, we are offering 4x6 notecards of my photography.  The cards have a full color photograph on the front and are blank on the inside.  We’ve packaged them as 6 cards (all the same photograph) with 7 envelopes (because I always mess up the address!).  If you don’t see a photo you’ve been admiring, please let us know.  I personally am interested in using the photo below as a note card!  Jeff is requesting blacksmithing cards in the future, too, so everyone is welcome to make suggestions….. 

In addition, most of my photographs are available as prints.  The store doesn’t offer that option, as of yet, but I’d be glad to accommodate your requests.  Speaking of that, if you know that you’ll be seeing us at a demo, we’d be glad to deliver the cards/prints in person, so please feel free to email us and we’ll arrange it. 

You might notice that the store does not include Jeff’s ironwork, as we have been so busy with demos that our inventory is rather low and we don’t want to list items that aren’t readily available.  However, if you have items in mind that you would like him to make for you, please let us know.  He’d be glad to help out.  In addition, we’ll post ironwork in the future.  

Thank you!