2012 ABANA Conference Schedule (Rapid City, SD)

Conference Schedule of Events 

(click on the table below to view larger)

Thursday through Saturday will be full days of forging demonstrations and excitement ABANA style. Saturday will conclude with a banquet and the conference auction. The site is within a few miles of thousands of reasonably priced hotel rooms and amazing family recreation opportunities. Camping and RV hook-ups will be available on site, as well as dorm room accommodations will be available at the School of Mines.

ABANA Conference Opening Demonstration Announcement

In furthering ABANA's goal of perpetuating the noble art of blacksmithing, by promoting blacksmithing to youth, we have added a "Youth Showcase" Demonstration to our slate of Opening Demonstrations on Wednesday evening.  Alec Steele, Daniel Riffe, and Kainon Baumer make up an international striking team which will put on both an entertaining and educational show to help open our 2012 conference. This team of three teens, all exceptionally talented behind the anvil through the tutelage of Brian Brazeal, will show what they know in dramatic form.    This is a first for these three young men and for ABANA as well. Young, old, beginner, and veteran smith will all walk away from this demo with a smile on their face, new techniques in hand, and comforted by the thought that blacksmithing is staying alive in their youthful hands. Bring your family in for this demonstration. It may even inspire your own youngsters to come out to the shop, or inspire you to recruit a few enthusiastic youths in your area who want to learn blacksmithing!   ABANA is taking an active role in supporting our youth through the development of our youth membership and now in this showcase demonstration. We are focused on preserving the traditions of the blacksmith through study of the past and the preservation of future smiths in the sharing of knowledge, skills, and experience. Come and be a part of history and ABANA's future at this Opening Demonstration at the 2012 Conference. Only 5 Days Left to Register and Save $50.00    The 2012 ABANA Conference is almost here.  Register before June 20th and save $50.00.  After June 20, 2012 a $50.00 late registration fee will be added to the registration cost.    ABANA 2012 Conference  July 18 - 21, 2012  Central States Fairgrounds  800 San Francisco St.  Rapid City South Dakota 57701 ABANA 2012 Conference Information Register Now   (before 20 June) to avoid the $50.00 Late Fee   Registration Fee - $275 Per Person - $225 for ABANA Members   After June 20, 2012:  Registration Fee - $325 Per Person - $275 for ABANA Members    Family members - $25 each for Spouse and Children 12- 17 (Under 12 Free) Day Passes - $75.00 - Available at the Gate Your ABANA Membership ID is required to Register at the Member Rate.   Don't know have you ID?    Have it sent to you by email:  Get Membership ID  Or Call the Central Office (423)913-1022 Register Now!  I can't make it  If you don't want to register online, you can also: Download a Registration Form and mail it along with your payment to the ABANA Central Office.

Artist-Blacksmith's Association of North America | 259 Muddy Fork Road | Jonesborough | TN | 37659

Winning ABANA Conference Poster Announced!

Congratulations to Rob Fertner for  creating this year's winning conference poster! Rob recieved 2 free passes to the conference

The 2012 ABANA Conference is almost here.  Register before Jun3 20th and save $50.00.  After June 20, 2012 a $50.00 late registration fee will be added to the registration cost. Register Now  Conference Deomonstrator Update:   Due to health concerns, Ed Caffery will not be attending and demonstrating at the conference. Please keep him in your thoughts for a speedy recovery. For updates visit his blog:    http://themontanabladesmith.blogspot.com/  ABANA 2012 Conference  July 18 - 21, 2012  Central States Fairgrounds  800 San Francisco St.  Rapid City South Dakota 57701    ABANA 2012 Conference Information Register Now (before 20 June) to avoid the $50.00 Late Fee   Registration Fee - $275 Per Person - $225 for ABANA Members   After June 20, 2012:  Registration Fee - $325 Per Person - $275 for ABANA Members    Family members - $25 each for Spouse and Children 12- 17 (Under 12 Free) Day Passes - $75.00 - Available at the Gate Your ABANA Membership ID is required to Register at the Member Rate.   Don't know have you ID?    Have it sent to you by email:  Get Membership ID  Or Call the Central Office (423)913-1022 Register Now!  I can't make it  If you don't want to register online, you can also Download a Registration Form and mail it along with your payment to the ABANA Central Office.

Artist-Blacksmith's Association of North America | 259 Muddy Fork Road | Jonesborough | TN | 37659

ABANA Conference Update

Dear Fellow Blacksmiths, The 2012 ABANA Conference comes at a time when the current economic situation continues to challenge all of us. We are faced with difficult choices in our spending habits. This year our Conference has been reshaped in order to fit with the times so that it can be a success. ABANA depends upon educating members and expanding our blacksmithing family to be able to preserve and promote our craft. Our 2012 Conference is dedicated to sharing knowledge of technical, aesthetic and business aspects of the craft for beginners to established professionals. First, the destination is at the premier vacation area of United States. Second, we are holding it at a site that permits car/tent camping and has RV hook ups. Third we are working with the South Dakota School of Mines to "bundle" the food and housing services that were a big part of previous ABANA conferences. These factors and more will hold the cost down for the majority of our members. However, we need your help to continue to keep the cost down so that we can create a great event at low cost to all blacksmiths and families. If you can't make it to South Dakota your support can and would be welcome. Many types of support are possible to ensure that we have a spectacular event: "Iron in the Hat" Thanks to several generous donors we have secured the "big ticket" items for the raffle. However, we are in desperate need of tools for the "Bam Box". A few dedicated members have already promised some items, but we need more. Items for the daily IITH are a welcome as well. The net proceeds of this event will fund ABANA's scholarships and grants program. Sponsorships will help defray expenses. Sponsorship of Conference Venues and Activities All monetary support is gladly welcomed! Your name or business can be displayed in our program for sponsoring a tent, venue, support crew, demonstrator, program, or other needed functions. Reimbursement of our costs is greatly appreciated. Even if we can't create signage, we will acknowledge all donors in the program. Gallery and Auction The gallery will be open to all persons that would like to display their work. Contact George Matthews at GeorgeMatthews@abana.org for information about the gallery. ABANA would appreciate if you donate your work to the auction to help offset our operating expenses. This is a very good way to get your name and work exposure to the public. Thank you for your support. Lance Davis and Jack Parks 2012 Conference Co-Chairs For more information, please contact: LanceDavis@abana.org or 423-913-1015 CentralOffice@abana.org or 423-913-1022 ABANA 2012 Conference  July 18 - 21, 2012  Central States Fairgrounds  800 San Francisco St.  Rapid City South Dakota 57701  ABANA 2012 Conference Information Register Now to avoid the $50.00 Late Fee   Registration Fee - $275 Per Person - $225 for ABANA Members (If paid before June 20, 2012) Family members - $25 each for Spouse and Children 12- 17 (Under 12 Free) Day Passes - $75.00 - Available at the Gate Your ABANA Membership ID is required to Register at the Member Rate.   Don't know have you ID?    Have it sent to you by email:  Get Membership ID Or Call the Central Office (423)913-1022 Register Now! I can't make it If you don't want to register online, you can also Download a Registration Form and mail it along with your payment to the ABANA Central Office.

Artist-Blacksmith's Association of North America | 259 Muddy Fork Road | Jonesborough | TN | 37659

2012 Conference Demonstrators

2012 Conference Demonstrators

International Demonstrators:

Claudio Bottero - Blacksmith – Italy

Claudio Bottero will be working by hand and power hammer with a team of blacksmiths to create a large sculpture.

Some examples of Claudio's Work
    

Håvard Bergland - Blacksmith / Knifemaker – Norway

Håvard Bergland will make a true Viking Axe. Håvard’s book, that has been translated into English, will be for sale.

Some examples of Håvard's Work
 

Becky Little - Nova Scotia, Canada      Website: Dragonfly Forge

Becky Little will create a coat rack with her whimsical style. I cannot wait to see what else she has prepared for us!

    

Punzo Family Copper Smiths:

6 members of the Punzo/Angel Family from Mexico : Abdon Sr, Carlos, Abdon Jr, Felipe, Marcos

Coppersmiths will take scrap copper and turn it into beautiful copper vessels. All work is done by hand with very few tools.

   

Knife Makers:

Ed Caffrey, ABS Master - MT      Website: "The Montana Bladesmith"
  

Ed Fowler, ABS Master - WY      Website: Ed Fowler High Performance Knives
  


Kirk Rexroat, ABS Master -WY      Website: Rexroat Knives
   

Knife Makers will demo:

Making and patterning a damascus billet,

Making Mokume Gane ( Copper, Brass, Nickel Silver )

They will also be demonstrating other interesting and exciting variations of knives.

Artistic Smithing:

Jill Turman - CA      Website: Bella Ironworks
 

Traditional / Sculptural:

Brian Brazeal - MS      Website: http://www.myspace.com/brazealbrothers
Lyle Wynn (Brian's helper) - MS

Brian Brazeal and his assistant Lyle Wynn will do some hard hitting to make hammers and tooling.

Iron Smelt:

      Lee Sauder - VA
      Steve Mankowski - VA
      Shel Browder - VA

The Smelt Team will be building a furnace on site. The first smelt will be on Thursday along with a talk about theory on site. Friday will be the second smelt. The first bloom will be transformed in to sculptural piece; the second one will be made into steel and forged into an axe. Two smelts will give everyone a chance to see the process.

    

Patient Order of Meticulous Metalsmiths:

    
         Tom Latane - WI               Pete Renzetti - DE           Michael McCarthy - NY         Tina Chisena - MD                Carl Close Jr - MA

The Patient Order of Meticulous Metalsmiths will be making a Scandinavian style door with hardware. They will be available to answer questions as they work

Teaching Station

Mark Aspery - CA
Darryl Nelson - WA
Gerald Boggs - VA

They will have the teaching station well staffed. The guys will be instructing the National Curriculum along with other projects.

Hammer Making Class

Nathan Robertson -

Nathan Robertson will be hosting a hammer making class, each participant will take home a hammer. There is an additional fee for this class.

ABANA Conference Gallery Shipping Logistics

Very Important Information on the 2012 ABANA Conference Gallery: For those shipping their work: ABANA only has an agreement with FedEx to hold shipments at their Rapid City facility for ten days and deliver them on Monday July 16, 2012. If you are shipping via any other carrier, pleased make sure your package is delivered on the 16th. For those wishing their work returned to them: If you are not donating your work to ABANA and what it returned, please remember to include a prepaid return shipping label. Remember: If you are shipping via any other carrier than FedEx, you will have to make arrangements for your package to be picked up on Sunday July 22, 2012. ABANA must vacate the premises no later than 12:00 midnight Sunday. ABANA only has pickup and delivery arrangements with FedEx. For those bringing their work with them: Please submit your gallery application prior to the start of the conference. This way all the information will be entered into our computers prior to the starting of the conference and we can spend our time setting up the gallery to show your work. For those still sitting on the fence: Ladies and Gentlemen this is your conference. What other opportunity are you going to have to show your work to such a crowd of very appreciative blacksmiths. Just down load the application from the ABANA website and email it to georgematthews@abana.org. If anyone has any questions, pleae do not hesitate to contact me at georgematthews@abana.org. ABANA 2012 Conference Information Register Now to avoid the $50.00 Late Fee   Registration Fee - $275 Per Person - $225 for ABANA Members (If paid before June 20, 2012) Family members - $25 each for Spouse and Children 12- 17 (Under 12 Free) Day Passes - $75.00 - Available at the Gate Your ABANA Membership ID is required to Register at the Member Rate.   Don't know have you ID?    Have it sent to you by email:  Get Membership ID Or Call the Central Office (423)913-1022 Register Now! I can't make it If you don't want to register online, you can also Download a Registration Form and mail it along with your payment to the ABANA Central Office.

Artist-Blacksmith's Association of North America | 259 Muddy Fork Road | Jonesborough | TN | 37659

ABANA 2012 Conference Starts Soon!

Conference Day 1 is July 18, 2012

ABANA 2012 Conference Information

It will be a great time - Hope we will see you there!