[TheForge] fall vacation-long

[Gladish Family]

What a time I had doing a tour-de-blacksmithing in Wisconsin and points
west!
In early September it was time to head back from Michigan, and on a whim I
took the ferry from Ludington to Wisconsin. Since I was close to Milwaukee
and had heard that it was full of beautiful ironwork, including the Colnik
collection (which was temporarily unavailable due to a fire). I called the
only smith whose phone # I had- Bob Bergman, for info. He turned me over to
the Naumanns, who are closer to the city. Imagine my surprise to find that
Dan was out of the shop because he was picking up Peter Ross at the airport
for a weekend workshop!
They kindly invited me to come and attend, which was especially welcome
since Peter is not coming to our neighborhood this year.
From there on out, it was friendliness and hospitality nonstop- typical
blacksmiths!  ;-)
We had a great time all weekend, the workshop was attended by some of my
most-admired smiths, all of whom seemed happy to put up with my interminable
questions...I think that the entire ABANA education committee was there, and
whatever you think of ABANA, this is a group of really dedicated guys, who
have a strong desire to share their hard-won knowledge with the rest of us
and bring us to a higher level of craftsmanship.
Dan put on a heck of a nice affair- good eats, music, and a great display,
including some of Peter's work and a Colnik table that was an education in
itself.
He's also teaching younger smiths and has a couple really talented
apprentices, which gives them a unique chance for hands-on learning from a
real craftsman.

The next stop was Postville. What an eye-opener Bob's shop was for me! I'd
never had the opportunity to spend time in a shop that comprehensive before,
and he took the time from his busy life to give me the complete tour and
explain all about how the shop was set up and arranged, in terms of work
flow and convenience. Imagine going from my little 20x30 with a couple
anvils and a LG 25 to a huge shop with a row of air hammers set up with dies
so that the worker can do several operations in sequence without changing
the hammer setup!
Bob even let me get in the way and do some forging- a chance to compare the
Chinese air hammer side by side to a fairly large Nazel.

Someday I'd like to take advantage of his apprenticeship program, even if
just for a few weeks. I feel that there's no real replacement for working
under the eye of a master, day after day, putting your work on the line
where it HAS to measure up. That's where you really learn the trade!

He's had students from around the world, and mentioned that the one other
country he'd like to see represented would be the USA! Too bad for us if we
think it's not worthwhile to study the trade before we try to make a living
at it...A lot of us dream of going to Europe to learn from an "old master,"
and that's a great idea for one who can, but there are tremendous
opportunities for learning within a day's drive of most of us, if we ask
around.

The rest of the trip west was a story in itself, but I'd have to say that
Wisconsin was a high point. Hooray for Wisconsin blacksmiths!
The approach to the trade is a bit different in the midwest- seems to be a
great place to learn basic and traditional skills. There are lots of tools
and lots of good, solid talent, and things aren't too far apart, to one used
to driving in the Western states.
But I'm happy to be in the Seattle area, since this is a place where the
boundaries of possibility are being constantly expanded, metallurgically
speaking. The NWBA is vigorous and inspiring and I'm fortunate to be a
member.

Thanks to all who made this a trip to remember!

Andy Gladish
Guemes Island, WA