cascadia center for arts and crafts

Beginner Blacksmithing – Decorative Hooks and More

Learn some of the most utilized blacksmithing fundamentals from Joe Vachon (joetheblacksmith.com), a self-employed blacksmith and bladesmith since 2007, and the Season 6, Episode 27, Forged In Fire Champion, in this 1 day, hands on course. Safety, body mechanics, tools, and the working properties of hot steel will be addressed, as well as various techniques, such as: tapering, scrolling, twisting, bending, drilling, punching, hot cutting, flat peening, upsetting and shouldering. Students will start out practicing the basics with the forging of a few decorative hooks for the first half of the class. During the second half of the class, folks are welcome to practice making more hooks, or create something of their choosing with their new found skill-set, such as (but not limited to) a fire poker, meat turner, door handle, dinner bell, letter opener, necklace pendant, or an experimental piece

Note about safety – Wear cotton pants and shirt (synthetics are potentially flammable). Make sure your pants fit over the tops of your boots so nothing hot can fall in. Safety glasses and ear plugs are available, or bring your own. Bringing your own leather gloves is a good idea. Bring a water bottle to stay hydrated.

Monotype Nature Printing with a Gelli Plate 2-day Class with Anji Grainger

Anji Grainger will teach you to use nature to create beautiful imprints on paper & other surfaces. A gel plate is a great way to make natural eco-prints & in this 2-day course, you learn ways to layer & build our natural prints. A strong emphasis in composition & design is included. Leaves, bark, flowers, grasses & feathers as well as bubble wrap, string & anything that leaves a pattern, all work well with this process.

Classes will be from 9:30 am to 3 pm Thursday and Friday. We will be looking at using nature to create beautiful imprints on paper and other surfaces. Included will be lots of tips and tricks to use when creating at home. We will have a lunch break each day.

The class is held at the Cascadia Center for Arts & Crafts which has an altitude of 3,914′, so be sure to bring a water bottle and a sweater!

Nature Printing Supply List

Items you need to bring:

One gel plate Any size will work but I recommend no smaller than 6” x 6”

• One piece of plexiglass slightly larger than the size of your plate

• Acrylic paint in tubes: various colors (you will need one tube of white and one tube of black)

• Brayer

• Palette knife

• Roll of paper towels

• A round watercolor brush – medium in size and a liner brush

• A few watercolor paints to add depth at the end.

• A water container

• Micron pens – white and black (optional)

• Fresh plant materials that you gather each morning from your garden or on a walk. This can be done each day before class. Note, wilted plants can be difficult to work with so fresh is better. Plants that work well:

• Grasses

• Leaves with lots of veins

• Flowers with flat or small centers

• Anything with lots of visual texture

• Other natural options:

• Flat stones

• Moss

• Feathers

• Two water containers

• Assorted papers and surfaces.

Paper Suggestions:

• Hot-press Watercolor paper

• Drawing paper

• Any smooth printing papers

Additional items you may want to bring:

•Tissue paper. Any kind you might have lying around the house. We will use this for patterning as well as lifting.

•Deli paper, if you have it. I will have a small amount that I will bring, but I was thinking that some of you may like to make collage papers and deli paper works great.

•Plain copy paper – the kind you have in your printer.

If you have craft stamps and stencils at home, bring those. We can build layers with stamps. Anything else lying around that you think might make a pattern. Perhaps, think outside the box.

Beginner Bladesmithing – Forging Knives to Shape

September 4, 2022 10:00 am

Forge your own knife with simple tools with Joe Vachon, the Season 6, Episode 27, Forged in Fire Champion, in this 1 day, hands on course.

In this class we will be exploring the rudimentary hammer techniques used, step by step, to forge a knife blade to shape without a grinder.

You can expect to learn how to forge a point on the end of a bar, flatten your blade to its final thickness, create a counter-bend, forge your bevels, shape an all-steel handle, clean up your work with a file, and sharpen on a stone.

We will be using mild and medium carbon steel to make things easier for the novice smith. We will also be discussing what goes into proper heat treating when using various high carbon steels and learn about various types of blade geometry and their application.

There will be a 45 minute lunch break.

Note about safety – Wear cotton pants and shirt (synthetics are potentially flammable). Make sure your pants fit over the tops of your closed toe shoes or boots so nothing hot can fall in. Safety glasses and ear plugs are available, or bring your own. Bringing your own leather gloves is a good idea. Bring a water bottle to stay hydrated.

SELECT NUMBER OF TICKETS NEEDED THEN “GET TICKETS”

Beginner Bladesmithing – Forging Knives to Shape

August 7, 2022 10:00 am

Forge your own knife with simple tools with Joe Vachon, the Season 6, Episode 27, Forged in Fire Champion, in this 1 day, hands on course.

In this class we will be exploring the rudimentary hammer techniques used, step by step, to forge a knife blade to shape without a grinder.

There will be a 45 minute lunch break.

SELECT NUMBER OF TICKETS NEEDED THEN “GET TICKETS”

Beginner Blacksmithing – Decorative Hooks and More

Monotype Nature Printing with a Gelli Plate 2-day Class with Anji Grainger

Beginner Bladesmithing – Forging Knives to Shape

Beginner Bladesmithing – Forging Knives to Shape

Blacksmith Demonstration

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