RMS Conference Cancelled
Due to circumstance beyond our control, the Rocky Mountain Smiths board has no choice but to cancel the 2020 Rocky Mountain Blacksmithing conference. The situation with regards the continued COVID-19 pandemic continues to change, and can pose considerable health risks to those that encounter it. We cannot, in good faith, risk the health of anyone involved by going ahead with the conference. The Whitaker shop is very small and we can’t observe social distancing being packed tight on the bleachers. At present, there are Colorado State restrictions of gatherings of people. Until there is a cure for this pestilence I cannot in good conscience put my friends and colleagues at risk. I am very sorry!
Scott Kretschmer
President
Rocky Mountain Smiths
Rocky Mountain Blacksmiths
Conference 2020
Dates
August 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 2020 – Wednesday through Sunday
Registration
Registration coming soon
Conference Brochure
Brochure coming soon.
Location
The Rocky Mountain Blacksmithing Conference is held at the Francis Whitaker Blacksmith School on the campus of the Colorado Rocky Mountain School in Carbondale, Colorado.
Schedule
To view the schedule click this link: Conference Schedule
Safety
Please wear safety glasses and hearing protection in the forge.
T-Shirt Contest
Time for the 2020 Conference logo T-shirt contest.
Due Date: June 1, 2020
The rules are:
- Designs must be your original artwork
- The shirt must say Rocky Mountain Blacksmithing Conference
- It should have the date and Carbondale Colorado
- The winner gets a free t-shirt and hat and bumper sticker
Submit to:
Scott Kretschmer
196 Mule Deer Dr
Loveland, CO 80537
970-567-2609
E-mail: Scott Kretschmer
Demonstrators
Lynda Metcalfe
Brasstown, NC
Currently Lynda Metcalfe’s working timetable consists mainly of commissioned architectural ironwork projects.
She also fits in smaller self-generated projects which might range from table lamps to furniture to jewelry.
The self-generated projects are very important as a means of exploring ideas and new techniques without having to commit to drawings and a specified outcome for a client.
However, the architectural projects provide a stability to being self-employed and ways in which to improve technically in both the forging and fabrication of work and also the planning out and execution of ideas.
Lynda is self-employed and works on her own with occasional short-term help. She has been based in Brasstown North Carolina for the last 20 years. She originally came from the United Kingdom.
She was introduced to forging in her undergraduate degree program in 1989 by instructor Peter Parkinson and later worked for UK smith Charles Normandale for a short while.
Aislinn Lewis
Journeyman Smith, Anderson Forge, Colonial Williamsburg, VA
Aislinn Lewis is from Virginia and got started in blacksmithing at a small historic site near her when she was in high school.
She also got involved with the local Heathsville Forge Blacksmith Guild and worked alongside the members of the guild for several years.
She then attended the American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, SC studying with Jay Close and Richard Guthrie and earning a Bachelor of Applied Science in Ornamental Ironwork.
After this she served a five-year apprenticeship in the Anderson Blacksmith Shop in Colonial Williamsburg under Ken Schwarz and now works as a Journeyman Smith in that shop.
She is passionate about the continuation of the trade and understanding the history of it through studying and applying traditional techniques.
Richard Sullivan
Master Gunsmith, Colonial Williamsburg, VA
Demonstrating welding a pair of pistol barrels.
This year marks my 40th year working at the trade and stocked my first rifle as a teenager.
I first worked in the Gunsmith shop at Colonial Williamsburg, VA during the summer of 1993 and welded my first barrel then.
Barrel welding remains one of my favorite aspects of the trade.
I was hired in 2003 and became the 8th person in the shops history to have completed a Rifle using only 18th Century type tools, technology, and raw materials (lock, stock and barrel).
In August of 2016 I was promoted to Journeyman Supervisor of the Gunsmith shop.
In January 2018 I became the shop’s 4th Master Gunsmith.