Welcome to 2016 on the Blacksmither Radio show.  This is episode #55 and I’m going to talk about a few things I have planned for you and for me.
The theme of 2016 is “Education” for me, for BlacksmitHer radio, and for you!  I thought it was fitting since the theme of this year’s ABANA conference is “education” too!  A few things that are playing into this theme and the first one is super exciting to me!
I’m introducing BlacksmitHer Academy, www.blacksmitheracademy.com .  The main mission of the academy is offer top notch blacksmithing education online.  You will be able to learn from the best blacksmiths around the world right from your own home.  It’s like I’m bringing the instructors to you – no travel expenses needed.
There will be:

Live blacksmithing workshops that are online in my new virtual classroom, they will have specific dates and times
And eventually professionally created online technique courses, where you can learn at your own pace. Each course will have pictured tutorials, audio of the instructor talking though the steps, pdf handouts and interactive communication with the other students in the course and the instructor.  I’m talking with ABANA on tying in their Controlled Hand Forging certification levels so the students going through each level will have direction throughout the series. Also looking into giving out certifications of completed levels.  But that’s in the beginning stages right now and there’s a lot to work with that path!

So I have the first two live online workshops scheduled for January 20th, a Wednesday and January 28th, a Thursday. Both at 5pm PST and each workshop will cover 8 different ways of punching and drifting with Mark Aspery as the teacher.
He will cover 8 modules split into 2 workshops, each about 90 minutes in length. 
By signing up and registering for the workshops, you’ll receive exclusive access to my private state-of-the-art virtual classroom where you can chit chat with each other and ask the instructor questions.
I will be hosting a few free live “Happy Hours” on Thirsty Thursdays Jan 7th and 14th in the classroom before the workshops so everyone can get a chance to check out the room, get used to it and chat with each other and about Mark’s Punch and Drift workshop.  It’ll be fun, please join me at the “Happy Hour” events, I’ll be emailing my list details and I will post them on the BlacksmitHer website under the live blacksmithing classes tab, so stay tuned for those details.
I will have the registration sign up links set up soon, hopefully this week.
I’ve got a few educational things planned for my own growth in blacksmithing.  I will be travelling to Argentina for 10 days in March with 30 other blacksmiths and architects.  We are going to Buenos Aires, the Paris of Latin America. This city enjoyed a building boom for 50 years, from 1880-1930, as the capital of what was once one the ten wealthiest countries in the world.  As a city lacking in major new construction over the last 80 years, Buenos Aires has felt the loss of the oral traditions of craft. Along with reviving craft, the populace is enthusiastic about the need to preserve their priceless architectural heritage. After we explore the city with locals on the first few days, we will divide into two groups. One group will present three days of blacksmithing demonstrations, 5 stations to be held in a public park, while the second group, US architects with an interest in preservation, will hold meetings and presentations to share their experiences, hear BA architects speak on their work, and seek solutions to current problems in preservation and adaptive re-use of historical buildings.  We will be dancing the tango at night and one day we will experience gaucho life on an estancia or ranch.  More information can be found on the website http://www.restorationcraftsmen.org/  and I will include some onsite interviews in future podcasts.
I’m’ also trying to plan a trip to Israel this year to take classes from Zeevik Go