ANNOUNCEMENTS - Check "other upcoming events" for event listings! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1-27-2010 - Paul Garrett, Resident Blacksmith at the John C. Campbell Folk School, has issued a request for pickets for railings that are to be installed in the new blacksmith shop at the Folk School. By mid March 2010 he would like to receive all donated pickets so that they can be installed in the railings. Now is the time to show your stuff and make a picket that shows your ability and training. Paul gives the specifications for the pickets below:
What we need in the pickets are finished pieces that are 40" long, and made from 5/8" square steel bar with plain square ends and the forgings confined to the center 2/3's of the bar or so. We will have to conform to a 4" spacing rule, so the forgings should follow a straight pattern, such as twists of all kinds, chiseling, chasing, or slit-and-drifted holes. The bars can be decorated with pieces that are added on in a traditional way such as riveting, collaring, forge welding, etc. Please wire-brush the pieces as good as you can, and send or bring them to the school by mid March or so.“
If you have any questions, please contact Paul Garrett 828-835-8441.
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Project of the Year 2010
Each year at the December Meeting we host a Forging Competition.
The competition consists of beginners and advanced smiths completing an item identified at the
2009 December meeting (see below) in their respective categories (beginner or advanced) and
bringing them to the December 2010 meeting to be judged for Design, Technique and Utility
(how they look, how they are made and how well they work).
The entrant that is judged 1st place in each category gets $100 and
2nd place gets a free year of membership.
The 2010 Beginner's project will be a bell.
The 2010 Intermediate/Advanced project will be a free standing coat rack.
The projects are due for display and judging at the December “Smithville” meeting.
Prizes are awarded then!
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Gulf Coast blacksmith group has linked us on their page. We are linking them also. To find out more about them -
Gulf Coast Blacksmith Association
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11/08/09
Hey folks, lets remember to be respectful to our hosts at meetings.
At all times, at any event, all tailgate sales and set-ups for personal sales should be in the parking lot. We need to remember that we are guests of the whoever is hosting us. We do not want to compete with their gift shop sales or interrupt demonstrations! We are representing the group at these events.
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June 28, 2009
It is with great sadnesss that we note the passing of Philip Simmons.
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Funeral services will be held for a famed South Carolina blacksmith who died this week. The Harleston Boags Funeral Home of Charleston says that the Saturday funeral for Philip Simmons has been moved to the Gaillard Municipal Auditorium to accommodate the large crowd that's expected.
It was originally scheduled to take place at a church that Simmons attended in Charleston.
Simmons was known for his wrought iron gates and other works gracing gardens and entryways along the South Carolina coast.
He created more than 500 pieces during more than half a century at the forge, including one that hangs in the Smithsonian Institution.
Simmons died in his sleep Monday night. He was 97.
Memorial donations may be sent to the Philip Simmons Foundation, Inc. at P. O. Box 21585, Charleston, SC 29413-1585, or the Philip Simmons Home and Workshop Fund, Coastal Community Foundation at 90 Mary St., Charleston, SC 29403.
Philip Simmons Foundation
From: http://www.counton2.com/cbd/news/local/article/charleston_blacksmith_philip_simmons_dies_at_age_97/35627/
Newsroom
Published: June 23, 2009
The following is a news release from the Bishop Gadsden Retirement Community.
It is with deep sorrow that we announce that Philip Simmons, America’s Premier Blacksmith, died at 9pm on June 22, 2009 at Bishop Gadsden Retirement Community. Philip moved to Bishop Gadsden in the spring of 2008 and had lived comfortably surrounded by a caring nursing staff and many friends and family. Philip died peacefully in his sleep surrounded by his daughter Lillian and family. He was 97.
Born on June 9, 1912 on Daniel Island, South Carolina, Philip was reared by his grandparents. At age 8, he was sent to Charleston (via ferry), to live with his mother on Vernon Street and enrolled in the first class at Buist Elementary School (now, Buist Academy). While walking to and from school, young Philip noticed the ironwork and became intrigued with it. The neighborhood was a Mecca for craftsmen who serviced the waterfront businesses. He began visiting the blacksmith shops, pipefitters, shipwrights, coppers, and other craftsmen in the area. However, the sounds of the blacksmith shops interested him the most.
Philip Simmons apprenticed under blacksmith Peter Simmons (no relation), who ran a busy shop at the foot of Calhoun Street. Here, Philip Simmons acquired the values and refined the talents that would sustain him throughout his long metalworking career.
Moving into the specialized fields of ornamental iron in 1938, Simmons fashioned more than five hundred decorative pieces of ornamental wrought iron gates, fences, balconies, and window grills. The City of Charleston, from end to end, is truly decorated by his hand.
In 1982, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded him its National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor that the United States can bestow on a traditional artist. This recognition was followed by a similar award from the South Carolina State Legislature. Simmons was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame in Myrtle Beach, SC on January 31, 1994. The “Order of the Palmetto” the highest award given in the state, was presented to him by Governor David Beasley in 1998. In May of 2001, Philip Simmons received the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Award for “Lifetime Achievement in the Arts.“
Pieces of his work have been acquired as well by the National Museum of American History and the National Museum of African American History and Culture (under construction), the Smithsonian Institution; the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, NM, and the South Carolina State Museum, Columbia, SC. In 1989, the vestry and congregation of his church (St. John’s Reformed Episcopal Church, 91 Anson Street in downtown Charleston), dedicated the grounds of the church to develop a commemorative landscaped garden as a tribute to his exceptional mastery of wrought iron and in recognition of his inspirational character and self assurance.
Philip is survived by Lillian Gilliam, daughter; Philip Simmons, Jr., son; Rebecca Comings, sister; 16 grandchildren, and many great and great, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be scheduled. Memorial donations may be sent to the Philip Simmons Foundation, Inc. at P. O. Box 21585, Charleston, SC 29413-1585, or the Philip Simmons Home and Workshop Fund, Coastal Community Foundation at 90 Mary St., Charleston, SC 29403.
To help the Philip Simmons Foundation, head to their website.
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April 28, 2009
It is with great sadnesss that we note the passing of A.P. Billingsley today.
A.P. was one of the founding members of the AACB.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.
Funeral services will be held at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, April 30, at the North Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home.
Interment will follow at Chattanooga Memorial Park.
The family will receive friends for visitation from 6 to 8 p.m. April 29, and
on Thursday from 10:30 a.m. until the time of the service at the North Chapel.
Please share your thoughts and memories at http://www.mem.com/Story.aspx?ID=2986894
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in A.P.’s memory to Central Church of Christ, Chattanooga.
Arrangements are made by Chattanooga Funeral Home Crematory & Florist, 5401 Highway 153, Hixson, TN 37343.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/29/obituaries-april-29-2009/?obituaries
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Have you heard about the new Folk School in Alabama? The Alabama Folk School at Camp McDowell
Founded in September 2007, they provide the opportunity for you to study a craft of your interest for a week or weekend and stay in comfort at their 1100+ acre facility in nothern Alabama.
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Jane Latsch (931) 289-2243
AACB Website Editor