The Intergenerational Class of 2010

The much awaited first class in the Clay Spencer Shop was a resounding success. Everything worked as advertised, and except for a few minor glitches, the week went smoothly. The class was full, and they gave the place a good shakedown. I was pretty happy to see that all the planning paid off, and that the space is very functional. There will be several weeks or months of fine tuning to optimize the shop, but in the meantime, small things can sometimes take care of themselves.

Take for instance the paper towel holder above the hand washing sink. There was none. So, one of the students, Asa Hewlett, took it upon himself to just hammer one out. He did it in part of a day, and decorated it with a ram’s head detail on top. No easy job.

Asa is fourteen, and has become a regular here for Intergenerational Week, and Little/Middle Folk School as well. He is becoming a very good blacksmith, has a forge of his own at home and is even, I believe, doing work for other people. This week he made a fire place screen and completed it despite taking the time to do the towel holder.

Asa With the Towel Holder

This is the kind of giving that makes the Folk School special, and no gift or donation is too large nor too small. It is what keeps the place going, and getting better year after year.

Today, we opened the new Clay Spencer Blacksmith Shop. After a week of moving some of the tools and tables and things from the the old Francis Whitaker shop, we are ready to teach classes again, and welcome instructor Judy Berger, her son David, and the students of Intergenerational Week.

The Intergenerational Class Orientation

We had a small but hardworking group of folks here over the last week to make the switch, and got a tremendous amount of work done. There was a lot of cleaning, welding, lifting, toting, fitting, grinding, painting, etc, to get it all ready to go and make it appear as though it was a seamless transition.

I am most exited about the new layout. We not only have more space, but it is so much better arranged with safety and efficiency in mind. All of the bigger pieces of equipment are centrally located with easy access. There are new work tables, and a much better organised tool room, as well as handier storage.

Some of the Forges and Work Tables

We still have the same number of student forges, twelve in all, and the instructor’s forge now has two fire pots to accommodate the assistant as well.

A View of the Center Equipment Bay

We look forward to many years of classes here. Check out our schedule, and come take a class. Whether you are a beginner, have done it before, or have been waiting for the new shop to open, now is the time. We have something for just about everyone.

The second weekend of  July saw the last forging class in the historic Francis Whitaker Blacksmith Shop. Jerry Darnell was here to teach his “Colonial Lighting” class. Interestingly, Jerry was here for the first class that Francis ever taught here at the Folk School in the mid-seventies, and said that he drove something like six hundred miles to be here and see this man that everyone was talking about. That class was in the older shop across the street - the Oscar Cantrell shop.

This year, the project was to forge and make a double candle, staircase chandelier. I decided to take the class partly because it was the last one in the old buiding, but also it had been a while since I had been in one of Jerry’s classes. I always learn a lot, and I get to brush up on some techniques that I would like to use more often.

The classes routinely involve most all the methods of moving metal, and some forge welding too. In the week long class that Jerry taught the week before, there was a different project each day for the students, so they each got to take home several nice lighting fixtures.

As a retired higher math teacher, Jerry loves the chalk board, and provides impecable notes for the students. It reminded me of college, and I copied the notes verbatim with paper and pencil. They did come in handy.

Jerry Darnell at the chalkboard

I was really happy with my finished chandelier. Not as large as it might sound, it is rather a nice size more fitting to a smaller colonial starcase.

My Finished Chandelier

Jerry insists on all traditional methods, and studies antiques from collections for examples for his reproductions. He is continually researching, so there is usually different pieces for the students to make each succesive year. These are great classes to learn and master these age old techniques that are still the basis for modern blacksmithing. Here is a photo of a part of the process of forge welding the chain links that were used to suspend a light fixture.

Forge Welding a Chain Link.

It was a good weekend in the old shop. Classes have been taught there for thirty one years, ever since Francis taught the first class there in November of 1979. I took my first blacksmithing class here about ten years ago, and have seen many changes in just that time. I hope that the new Clay Spencer Shop eventually smells the same as this one. I always like that smell every time I walk in. It smells of coal smoke, bees wax, and something that I have never been able to quite place, but like it just the same. It smells honest and nostalgic I think.

The building needs a lot of work, and we are actively trying to raise capital to do just that.

A couple of weekends ago, we had a few blacksmiths over for a mini work weekend. Really just a continuation of our annual work week, it was a chance to get some more work done in the new forge building, now officially the Clay Spencer Blacksmith Shop.

Our small crew did a lot actually. We built some hand railing, assembled the coal forge blower piping, finished up on some fabricating on the new forges, anchored the post vice stands, and assembled the instructor’s forge hood that was started a couple of months prior, placed anvil stands, and a dozen other projects as well.

The instructor’s forge hood is a beautiful piece in itself. As with many blacksmith shops, the “Forge” is the center piece of the building, and here, I wanted to make a big splash with it, and design something more than just functional. Don Neuenschwander handled the cutting, texturing, and patination of the copper sheet, as well as the the fabrication of the steel frame with the help of Julie Clark at Work Week. This weekend, Steve Barringer and I scratched our heads to figure out how to set the 300 some copper rivets that hold the whole thing together and came up with an idea that would work quickly and look great. Using a hand held pneumatic hammer and a NASCAR race axle as a backup bar, and Rooney Floyd as the rivet master, we completed it in an evening and the next morning. The result is a focal point that will be the subject of talk and photographs for years to come.

The instructor's forge hood

Another fun project that got done was the last of the Crown Jewels for the grand entrance between the silos. You might have already seen the pictures of the big anvils that appear to support the mail posts of the entry timber frame, and this weekend, we installed the large fabricated hammer head that hangs from the oak king post in the center of the entry. John Campbell carved the hammer handle out with a mainly a chainsaw,

and Steve Barringer fabricated the head out plate stock. No question about the intended usage of this building.

Steve and John with their hammer

We are close to opening, and plan to start moving in starting on July 11th. The first class is tentatively Intergenerational Week with Judy Berger on the 18th.

Every time I come to Brasstown, I’m not sure what to expect.  So many things happen here, each studio existing as a world of it’s own, and there is always so much to see and be a part of.

This week the Blacksmiths are in the spotlight as they work day in and day out to get the new shop up and running.  The group of twenty-two have been divided into teams – installing equipment, assembling the custom railing on the mezzanine, building the new forges and hoods, finishing up the front entry and more.

Ted Thompson stands beside the anvil he fabricated for the entrance to the shop

This anvil was presented to resident blacksmith Paul Garrett during lunch on Tuesday.   It was wheeled into the dining hall and Folk School instructor and volunteer Julie Clark demonstrated how strong Folk School women are when she picked it up and handed to Paul.  The anvil is a fabricated replica of a 900lb one in Tim Cris’s nearby forge.  Ted did a great job — it will fool us all when we see it holding up the arch way to the entrance of the shop.

John Campbell chainsaw carving

Timber framer and woodworker, John Campbell stood high above the entrance shaping the front archway with a chainsaw.

Old meets new

The Clay Spencer Shop stands behind the Francis Whitaker Shop.  Together they will provide one of the finest Blacksmith Shops to work in.

Entrance to Francis Whitaker Shop

Wow, It’s already Wednesday. We have many projects underway for this week. Our original plan was to move all the equipment in to the New Forge Building and start clearing out the Francis Whitaker Shop for renovations, but as it turns out, the building and some of its systems won’t be ready. So, this week the blacksmiths are building and assembling the new forges and hoods, making new tool racks and fixtures, fixing and repairing tools, finishing up the front entry details like the new front door, and the anvil that will decorate the left side to match the right.  We are also forging a hand rail to go on the mezzanine upstairs using about 70 custom pickets that were donated by blacksmiths from all over.

Last week, metalwork instructor Bob Trout stopped by my office to talk about the upcoming Gala and Benefit Auction (June 12) and to let me know that he and his fellow instructor, John Rausch would both be purchasing beams in the New Forge Building. Bob, being the enthusiastic supporter that he is, asked if he could speak at “show-and-tell” to hopefully encourage fellow students to match their generous gifts. It is always wonderful to see students and instructors who are so passionate about the School!

Just like it was in my stock car driving days where the last race of the year marked not only the end of the season, and gave us a chance to breathe for a week or so, the last regular class of the year was last week here at the Folk School, and now I have a chance to relax a bit before the 2010 class schedule begins in the first week of January.

And like with NASCAR after the last race, where folks thought that we all took a couple of months off and just washed the car before we went to the racing the spring, life here at the School can be pretty hectic getting ready to go again after the holidays. Right now in the blacksmith shop, there are electricians upgrading wiring, and builders working hard on the new forge building to get it ready for classes in the spring. As for myself, I am taking care of repairs large and small, and making sure that everything if set to start the new season off with a bang. There is much to do, and a lot of organising and coordinating to make it all happen.

To back up a bit though, we finished up the year very strong in blacksmithing, and the last two classes were both a big hit. Lyle Wheeler taught a beginning blacksmithing weekend class that was full, and Allen Kress taught his Holiday Iron Trinkets class again where folks made all sorts of small gift type things that ranged from trivets, to hooks, to Christmas decorations, to small animal forms such as elephant faces, scotty dogs, and shrimp. It is a class that has something for everyone, with beginners welcome. A lot of people made Christmas gifts all week to take home, and in general had a great time.

Book your 2010 classes early, and have happy holidays everyone.  Come see us soon.

The blacksmithing program is one of the most popular at the John C. Campbell Folk School.   With the New Forge Building underway, many people are working hard to raise funds for the new studio.  The first Saturday in November, the day of the annual Blacksmith auction, was dedicated to the cause.

Whether bidding or not, Tim Ryan’s jokes were entertainment enough.  The event was an auction/comedy show/moving art display with pottery, jewelry, woodworking, blacksmithing, printmaking, and more up for sale.

From Reed Caldwell, development manager at the Folk School, “Our auctions provide critical support for the Folk School, bring the local & regional community together and provide a forum for hundreds of folks to see your art.  We accept any art or craft item as well as musical instruments, cooking lessons, performance vouchers or just about anything you have to offer.”  The next auction is the June Gala.