Forged in the Box: Flora or Fauna
Flora theme due date extended to Spring Conference 2025. Fauna theme also welcome.
CBA is delaying the first judging of the Forged in the Box Challenge in order to get more entries and to enlist some well established curators, judges and participating venues.
If you have your entries ready by Oktoberfest, by all means bring them to share. We'd all love to see them!
Inspired by the awesomeness of the 150mm Challenge displayed at Spring Conference 2022, at Petaluma, CBA invites individuals and teams of up to 4 to create artwork that can be shipped in a standard USPS Large Flat-Rate Box.
Your CBA embarks on a multi-year project to bring the art of blacksmiths to the public. To do that we need a body of great work to show. You are challenged to help build that body of work representing the breadth and quality of our craft. CBA will send our best work on a traveling exhibit visiting art shows, galleries and museums.
The theme for the first round is 'Flora'. Leaves, flowers, any sort of plant based element, realistic or abstract or impressionistic. Other elements are allowed. The second theme is 'Fauna'. So combining the two encompasses anything inspired by the forms of life from mushrooms to people.
Register your intent to participate at: https://www.calsmith.org/event-5791681
FAQ and such:
Who can enter? Anyone. Like the 150mm Challenge, we are open to entries from artist blacksmiths from across the globe.
What is needed to enter? Just make something and bring it to Spring Conference or ship it to FiB Challenge c/o Kirk McNeill, 119 Corinne Ave, Santa Cruz CA 95050. The due date for shipped packages for the Spring Conference judging is April 8, 2025. Hand delivered pieces must be at Spring Conference by noon April 12, 2025. Fill out the form on the CBA website and email to vice-president@calsmith.org.
What can it be made of? It should be predominantly made of metal featuring traditionally crafted elements. Any metal is acceptable. The finish should support and enhance the work.
How big is a Large Flat-Rate Box? The Interior dimensions are 12 x 11.75 x 5.5 inches. Allowing for packing material is recommended but not required. It need not use the whole volume of the box.
Can it stand up? As displayed it can use a space 12 x 11.75 x 18 inches tall. This might be a simple stand so that a piece designed for wall mounting could be displayed. Or it could require some assembly such as placing flower stems in a vase. If assembly is required, instructions must be provided. Note: words and pictures work better than either alone. If fasteners are required, they should not be visible or they should complement the work.
Can I work alone? Yes, but we really want to encourage teamwork. Hopefully, intermediate smiths can team up with masters and professionals.
“Flora”? What does that even mean? Flowers, plant forms, or leaves. For instance, roses, oak leaves with acorns, etc. It could be a literal interpretation into metal or abstract – use your imagination. The ‘Flora’ theme is selected as a way to get your imagination started. Theme is to suggest not only representing but also inspired by, abstract representations, and impressions. In other words anyplace your brain and heart take you.
Who owns the work? Work can be donated to CBA or Loaned for a period of time -- typically a year or so. We will add new pieces from the next challenge to the traveling exhibit. Depending on the venue, as in gallery vs. museum, and the artist's preference, work might be offered for sale. If they don’t sell, we will return them to the lead artist or auction them off at some future event. We have an entry form that spells this out. The entry form is HERE.
Will this be a one-time thing? No, we intend to keep this up with new themes for at least a couple of years. The next theme will probably be “Fauna” or forms from life. Like Monica Coyne's humanoid forms, or those of Joe Anderson, or Zevik Gottlieb. We will think of other themes as we go along.
Where will these be displayed? We have a couple of places lined up but we are looking for more. We’ll be creating an exhibition catalog with photos and descriptions of the works and the artists. We’d like to earn a place at art festivals such as the Sausalito Art Festival, the Kings Mountain Art Festival, and the Sawdust Art and Craft Festival, or the Winter Fantasy in Laguna Beach. All these high-end affairs require us to pass muster with their juries competing against well-known artists in many disciplines. Currently, we are working on cementing connections with some galleries in Santa Cruz. At some point the collection will be at the Museum at Templeton, Folsom, Vista, and maybe Santa Rosa.
Why? Presenting the craft of blacksmithing and the art of blacksmiths to the public is part of both the CBA and the ABANA charters. We have found that we can’t expect the public to come to us. So how do we bring our art and craft to the public? Getting to more people means showing our work. Galleries, museums, and arts and craft fairs are all possible venues.
(Photo: Pat Downing's spectacular entry.)
