Seattle Metals Guild

The Lectures are coming! The Lectures are coming! What better holiday present could you ask for than the anticipation of another wonderful year of speakers in the Seattle Metals Guild Lecture Series??? Please let me be the happy fulfiller of all those holiday wishes! Please, please, please! Oh, thank you!

Now presenting for your anticipatory pleasure, our exceptional slate of speakers for the 2010 Lecture Series! We'll be beginning our fine foursome of talks on January 14th with a trip across the pond to the isles of Britain and Scotland. There we'll be exploring various museums, galleries, art schools and metalsmith's workshops with jeweler Peggy Foy, recipient of SMG's Ramona Solberg Travel Grant in 2007. What an amazing chance to see some classic works both ancient and modern! I wonder if I'll find inspiration in the same pieces Peggy does?

February brings us back to our own backyard with a truly unique look at metalworking from a side most of us have never even considered - how do companies get their amazing metal signs? Mark your calendar for the 11th when environmental chemist, blacksmith, and worker of who knows how many different metals, John Hicks, comes to tell us a little about a world few of us know or even think about. Sure he does some stunning other work as well, but signs? He's got me hooked! If you'd like a preview, you'll see some amazing work on his website www.steelheadfab.com.

If we're going to be in the blacksmithing and welding realm, let's stick with it, shall we? We can't do the same thing twice in a row, though - that would be silly! So, lets add in another art form... how about combining fused glass with our metalworking? Why not? Sure sounds fascinating to me and on March 11th welding instructor and glass artist Mimi Riley will show us some of the marvelous possibilities. Not only that, she said she'll give us some tips as well! As you can see on www.mimiriley.com, she's a woman who knows what she's talking about. I'm hoping to take her garden gate welding class, myself.

Now I know all the jewelers out there are saying "What? No jewelry in months? I don't believe it!" Well, I've saved a special treat for our grand finale in April. Most of us don't know it, but we're lucky enough to have one of the great master engravers right here in our own backyard! This series has taken us to Europe, we've explored the world of corporate signage, welding has been examined in a new light and on April 8th it'll be time to prepare for summer with a trip to the metal working styles of the Old West. Mark Drain, one of the founders of the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association, will be on hand to talk about his engraving, silversmithing and other work in the cowboy world. Trust me when I say that you won't be let down if you check out some of his work at http://www.tcowboyarts.com/members/silversmiths/mark-drain, but make sure you explore the rest of the site as there are some amazingly talented metalsmiths on there! Who knew a master engraver was just a quick drive away in Shelton, Washington?

Hoo-boy! If that hasn't whet your appetite for next year's Series, well, I'm not sure what would! Have a wonderful holiday season everyone and I'll look forward to seeing you in January (in SPU's Otto Miller Hall Room 127 before the talk begins at 7pm, of course)!