Bring your friends and family to celebrate the opening of the 2013 Biennial Exhibition at the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle!

When: Sunday, April 14, 2-6pm

What: View the artwork on the 2^nd Floor, South Galleria (2:00 – 4:00)

Then: Celebrate at Dragonfish one block north at 722 Pine St (4:00 – 6:00)

**The first round of appetizers is on SMG!**

Parking: You can pay to park at the Convention Center or find street parking.

http://www.wsctc.com/about_us/directions_parking.aspx

Also… Mark your calendars: Passing the Torch Award Ceremony, Sunday, April 28 (details coming…)

The Lecture Series is held at:

Seattle Pacific University
3469 Third Avenue West
Otto Miller Hall Room 109

Doors open at 6:30. Lectures begin at 7:00.

For more information on this and other lectures, click here.

Following the lecture – join us for a drink!  Metals Guild members gather at the Nickerson Street Saloon for conversation and company.  It’s a great chance to connect with like-minded artists and makers in an informal setting.  Hope to see you there!

Sending  your registration in advance will greatly help our intake process during the drop-off days this weekend.  Help us make this as smooth as possible – your exhibition coordinators will thank you for it!

This show is one of the major benefits of membership in the guild; participation is FREE to all members.  Work will be on display at the Washington State Convention Center from April 11 – July 6.  And remember, this show is an all-volunteer effort; if you are available to help with installation on April 8 & 9, we could sure use the help!  But most of all, participate – this opportunity only comes once every two years, so don’t miss out.

Can’t find your form?  Download it here:  registration form.  If you are not a current SMG member, it’s a great time to renew so you can take part in this show!

More info about the Biennial can be found here: http://www.seattlemetalsguild.org/programs/exhibitions-2/biennial-exhibition/

The Lecture Series is held at:

Seattle Pacific University
3469 Third Avenue West
Otto Miller Hall Room 109

Doors open at 6:30. Lectures begin at 7:00.

For more information on this and other lectures, click here.

…And don’t forget, registrations for the Biennial Exhibition are DUE by MIDNIGHT TOMORROW!  That’s this Friday, March 15th – with the actual drop-off dates this Saturday and Sunday!  You read that right, we want you to pre-register via email (check your email, the form was sent out to all current members).  See this page for complete details about the show.

Drop-off Work This Weekend: March 16th and 17th, 12-4pm.

• Bring: Your work (up to 3 pieces) carefully wrapped in bubble wrap and in a plastic bag (sculpture: please box it with padding, as though you would mail it!)
• Email: your registration form by this Friday night, March 15th, so we have you in the system! (see below)
• Address: Danaca Design Studio, 5619 University Way North, Seattle, WA 98105

Installation Dates: April 9th & 10th, all day at the Convention Center.  **Volunteers Needed!  Email here if you can help!**

Show Dates: April 11 – July 7, 2013 in the South Galleria of the Washington State Convention Center. The Galleria space is the central thoroughfare of the Convention Center, with nearly 20,000 visitors walking through daily.

Registration:  Check your email for a digital Biennial registration form. This FORM MUST BE EMAILED TO THE ADDRESS PROVIDED BEFORE DROP OFF.  Not a metals guild member?  Join or renew now, so you can participate in this show!

Large Works: We also have a limited number of vitrines to house larger-scale work and can accommodate pieces up to 18”x18”x18”, and even a few 18”x32”x18” pieces. Since space for bigger items is limited, we urge anyone who needs the extra room to apply early – this is first-come-first-serve. Because all members may submit up to 3 items for the Biennial (with a guarantee of at least 1 to be shown), we also highly recommend that anyone submitting larger work also consider submitting a smaller item as well, to ensure we can fit you in somewhere. The Convention Center is also great for wall-hanging pieces. Anything displayed directly on a wall will have its own attached security alarm.

Shipping Work:  If you need to mail your work, it MUST be shipped with a printed receipt and with adequate packaging to prevent damage. Your piece must be fully insured and you are responsible for providing a return address label with postage for after the show. It will be returned in the same box it was sent in. A printed receipt must be included in each box sent.

Please remember that SMG members may submit up to 3 pieces for this show and are guaranteed at least 1 piece. Additional pieces will be shown as space allows.

Location:

Seattle Pacific University 3469 Third Avenue West, Seattle, WA 98119

Room 109 of Otto Miller Hall

Doors open at 6:30. Lectures begin at 7:00.

Free to all current members. A $5.00 donation is requested of non-members.

The Lecture Series is a great opportunity to learn and socialize.

Following the lecture, stick around to continue the conversation over a pint and a snack at the Metals Mixer, at the Nickerson Street Saloon.  Metals Mixers are invariably filled with laughter, cool ideas, and a fresh shot of enthusiasm for the passion we share for our work.  Hey, you wanna go grab a drink?

See you there!

This year we are honored to present the Lifetime Achievement Award to the charming and talented Roger Horner.  We will also present the new Emerging Artist Award, which will be awarded to Melissa Cameron.  Melissa will give a 15 minute presentation on her work at the meeting.

TIME: Doors open at 6:30 and close at 9:30

LOCATION: North Star Dining Room, North Seattle Community College

The North Star Dining Room is in the Northeast section of the West wing of the College Center, 1st floor.  Click here for a campus map.  Directions to the college: https://northseattle.edu/about-north/directions-nscc

A PARKING PASS WAS EMAILED TO ALL MEMBERS, check your email…

Bring postcards and business cards to exchange!

See you there!

Article by Sylvia Kantor.

At this point in his life, Roger Horner considers himself a silversmith. But he only came to this vocation after a long and distinguished military career that spanned service during the Vietnam War and included a win for the 101st Airborne Division in the All Army Boxing Match.

Enameled silver cordial cups, 1992.

Born in Pasco, WA and raised in Central Washington, Roger is a product of the basalt-based landscape of the Columbia Basin. “When I was a little kid we used to find arrowheads along Crab Creek made out of flint- Ellensburg Blue, from Swauk Prairie. The whole landscape is chipped, broken up stone.” Roger learned flint knapping as a kid. He recalls that his father, a superintendent of schools and a woodworker, made sure he and his brother always had a hammer, an old railroad rail and some copper wire to play around with. His mother was a painter and a sculptor, and Roger enjoyed visiting museums at an early age.

Roger entered the military as an infantry officer in 1955 and would spend the next 25 years leading platoons, then companies, and ultimately, his own battalion. And while the service might seem an unlikely place for art and craft, it was here, via military hobby shops, that Roger’s penchant for shaping stones and forming metal began to really take root. He learned to cut and polish stone while stationed in Fairbanks, AK and discovered casting during a stint at Ford Ord in Monterey, CA. In 1965, Roger shippedout to Vietnam where he served as an advisor for calling in airstrikes (naval bombers) and medical evacuations.

Pair of silver cups.

In 1973, Roger went to Fort Campbell (KY & TN), home of the US Army 101st Airborne Division, with the goal of commanding his own battalion but since none were in need of a commander at the time, he opted instead for the role of recreational services officer. As such he oversaw operations for golf courses, sports arenas, gun clubs, stables, service clubs, libraries, bowling alleys, and of course, hobby shops. He had two golden glove winners on his gymnasium team, so he developed a boxing program. With the Screaming Eagles insignia of the 101st Airborne Division painted on the side of a Greyhound bus, he toured his boxing soldiers around to every prison within 400 miles and set up “no decision” boxing bouts. “In the end we won the All Army Boxing Match and that’s how I got a battalion.” In 1974, the commanding general gave him his pick of two battalions. Roger’s battalion consisted of five companies of about 250 each with supporting units attached (e.g. artillery, helicopter). As a battalion commander he had reached lt. colonel status. Roger retired as a full colonel in 1979.

As a new civilian, Roger perused a University of Washington course catalog where his eye was caught by classes in hollowware and enamel. So he placed a few pieces of jewelry he had made over the years (inspired by his wife, two daughters, and slew of female cousins and nieces) in a handkerchief and presented this ersatz portfolio to UW professor, John Marshall. This proved to be a pivotal encounter: Roger discovered a passion for hollowware, earned a BFA in 1983 and in 1986 graduated from the UW with an MFA in metal design in a class of two (along with Florence Baker-Wood). Roger went on to work in the UW metals program for 14 years keeping the facility, equipment, and tools in good shape. But the technical side of the metals studio was only part of the story. Roger enjoyed being around and mentoring many students who went through the metals program.

He put his silversmithing skills to work for several notable commissions including three seven-foot tall processional crosses: one for St. Margaret’s Church in Factoria Anne, one for Glendale Lutheran Church in Burien, and one for St. Mark’s in Medford, OR. Noted collector Seymour Rabinovitch commissioned Roger to make a gift for his grandson’s bar mitzvah based on a drawing produced by his grandson. The result was a fish slice with a merman as the handle, a stone set on the inside curl of the tail, and a sea serpent wrapped around the blade.

Neptune fish slice, 1998

If you ask Roger what his favorite tool is, he will say the hammer. “Hammers are probably the first basic extension of our manipulation of the universe. It saves our fist.” Indeed, he has many, many hammers, dozens of which he has made. But hollowware and the lathe are also near and dear to his heart. He understands and appreciates the functional and formal aspect of containers. “I like the idea something really useful can be attractive.” His love affair with the lathe began upon discovering he could produce a compound curve from a flat sheet of metal. “I make silver containers. I’ve made my living various ways throughout my life. I’m retired and it’s what I like to do.”

Some of Roger’s many hammers.

Roger is humble, warm, and patient; qualities that lend themselves to his role as teacher and mentor. He teaches tool making, basic jewelry metalsmithing and the lathe and at Pratt Fine Arts Center. He teaches because he’s concerned that silversmithing is waning as a craft and he wants to ensure that it continues to thrive for generations to come. But mainly, Roger teaches because he likes people. With a lifetime of experience, knowledge and wisdom, Roger is poised to shape generations of silversmiths to come.

The Seattle metals community is blessed to have him.

In past articles I have spoken about the many different ways in which any member of the Seattle Metals Guild can become involved in Passing The Torch. In this article I would like to address how the judging takes place and what type of judging process is used for selecting which PTT entries will take top place.

Jewelry 1st Place – Kenia Marquez – Beauty of Armor

While the “judging criteria” (what each judge deems most important) will vary slightly with the different experiences and expectations any given judge brings to the selection process, the process itself has remained unchanged for every year PTT has been in existence. The judging process for PTT is a “blind judging” process.

Now, “blind judging” does not refer to the ability of the judges to see, rather it refers to what is kept from the judges sight. During PTT judging the objects (jewelry, sculpture, hollowware) are all the judges are allowed to see. The work must stand on it own. No indications – of where the maker attends school, their age or gender, or who the makerʼs teacher may be – are allowed on the pieces during judging. The PTT entries are not even kept in groups from schools, instead each schoolʼs entries are broken down into the different categories of jewelry, sculpture/hollowware, or special topic before the judges are allowed to view them.

Inspired by Music 1st Place – Jordan Howlett – Music is Part of Me

The year I judged the competition, I called on my years as a successful fine jewelry manufacturer and as a national & international award-winning jewelry designer to guide my choices. You can well imagine that my criteria for judging would vary vastly from past years judging by Central Washington University, Professor, Keith Lewis or prominent studio jeweler (and friend of PTT), Micki Lippi. Equally, this yearʼs judges will bring their own sets of experiences and criteria. What will not differ is the process of painstaking evaluation each judge will render for each entry.

Hollowware and Sculpture 1st Place – Barbara Wright – Rin

I felt the greatest difficulty of blind judging was that no additional information could be included. The judges never hear about how one student just blossomed while making his/her entry, or how another student was able to overcome some personal trouble by concentrating on the work for their entry. However sorrowful or uplifting these stories maybe, the PTT judging is not conducted like that on the “American Idol” TV show.

Blind judging keeps the playing field for these high school entrants level. Every participating school has the option of entering up to 6 entries. While some high school metal arts programs may struggle (like my own) to get even one entry into the competition each year and other schools must edit their entries down to only 6, blind judging insures that each entry regardless of its origin has an equal chance before the judges. So, while it remains a crap-shoot as to who the judges are each year and what their particular biases maybe in any given year, how the PTT judging is conducted remains as unbiased as possible every year.

All of that can get really exhausting; and by the end of it, you may find yourself going “What about MY needs??”

Well, it turns out: getting involved with the Seattle Metals Guild is actually more about doing something for yourself.  Think about it:

Are you interested in having a particular teacher come to give a workshop?  Got a favorite author that you’d loooove to take a class from?  (If you are on the workshop committee, you not only get a say in who comes to Seattle, you work with them directly.)

Are you interested in having a show, but lack money or other resources or connections?  Or maybe, you need to get more experience on your resume, and get some real hands-on experience in the inner workings of a large group show?  Or even: have you ever wanted touch, hold, and even (gasp) try on work by some of the master metalsmiths in our community? (The exhibitions committee does all of this and more.)

Do you want to get a first look at all the cool events and news?  Want to write reviews and articles, and get published?  (Join our newsletter team!)

Want to boost your organizational skills, fill in your professional metals experience, and help shape the future of the metals community in Seattle?  Or, just want to learn more about how a large not-for-profit organization is run?  (Our Board of Directors brings all the pieces together and makes it happen.)

Maybe you need more experience with web design, marketing, and community management?  (Our web team could be the place for you!)

You get the idea.  The Seattle Metals Guild is an all-volunteer organization, and we do a lot of cool things - really cool, much more than most other groups like us.  It’s part of what makes us such a prestigious and well-regarded guild.  The other part is that we have so many well-known metalsmiths in our area, who have worked hard over the years to build this community as they built their own reputations.  Our craft has a long tradition of helping each other, sharing knowledge and sharing our passion for our work.  We really need your help to keep this going.

So – get involved.  It helps your community.  It also helps your own art career.

Email volunteer@seattlemetalsguild.org for more info about any of the above, or any other areas of the guild you would like to be a part of.

Make art a priority in 2013.  You never know where it might lead.