The article begins where Jon began…learning the hard way as a medieval jouster with bad armor:

“I had no armor of my own when I started, so I’d get loaner suits,” Gruber said. “And getting unhorsed at 30mph hurts a lot worse when your armor doesn’t fit right. Being injured after wearing ill-fitting suits was what got me into forging them myself.”

The article goes on to discuss Jon’s teaching philosophy and what his classes at the fire arts center of chicago offer.

You would be hard-pressed to find an opportunity to take a class like Jon’s in the entire country, let alone in Chicago. The class runs on Saturday, but has a limited class size to allow for more one-on-one instruction. Be sure to contact us today to find out how you can get in!

Our thanks to the Chronicle for shedding some light on this talented instructor. We appreciate all the hard work Jon does and his students truly enjoy the challenges offered by his classes.

Click here to read the full Chronicle article.

The fire arts center is a great place to learn how to create works similar to this one. The Pet Memorial is a cast bronze work that includes a chemical patina that was applied by fire arts center instructor Michael Bennett. Michael, an expert at patination who has worked on several restoration projects, teaches these techniques at the fire arts center. A patina uses the chemical properties of the bronze to create a reaction that changes the metal’s color and appearance. The weather and other environmental variations will continue to change the color over the years.

Vince had other helpful hands joining in on the process. Vince’s daughter helped out with the project and signed the completed work. Vince prides himself on making works that bring people together, and having his own daughter help made the creation of the memorial that much more meaningful. Providing a way for children to get involved in the artistic process is critical to their development and is a great way for parents to get involved in their children’s lives. If you want to find out how you can provide more creative opportunities for your children, check out the fire arts center of chicago’s kid’s classes today. Contact us to find out more.

Vince’s sculpture highlights the great work of the Kankakee County Animal Foundation and their hard work to provide homes for neglected and unwanted pets. As you can imagine it is a difficult job, and money is always short. To help provide more programs for these animals, the KCAF will be selling engraved bricks around the memorial for as long as space is available. Contact them today to find out how to purchase one and dedicate a piece of the memorial to someone you care about.

from the NVVAM Web site…

Friday, October 26, 7-10:30pm
In honor of our veterans, we’re offering an art workshop. Join veterans from Vietnam/Afganistan/Iraq, artists and regular people.

Art stations include: Silk screening for paper or cloth, wax to sculpt, drawing with charcoal and more!

Veterans are free, general public $10. There will also be an activities/music therapist here during the workshop for questions, help, etc.

The museum can be found at the following address:

The Vietnam Veterans Art Museum

1801 S Indiana Blvd
Chicago, IL 60616
(Right by the bridge to Soldier field!)

Click here for more directions.

You can find us at the following address:

1907 N Mendell Street
Chicago, IL 60622

(Click here for a map.)

Are you sure you can’t make it tonight? Alright, then come see us on Saturday, October 27, instead. We will be doing a full day of demonstrations starting at 12:30pm and running until 6:00pm.

You don’t want to miss either of these events!

noon-1:00pm - Light Metals and Forging Demo with Kristian

1:00pm-2:00pm - Foundry Demo with Mike and Vince

2:00pm-3:00pm - Stone Carving Demo with Bouba

While we are only there on Sunday, the festival runs Friday through Sunday. Be sure to stop by and check out the pet adoption party on Saturday, but don’t you dare leave empty-handed.

We look forward to seeing you there.

UPDATE (9/20/2007) - As many of our astute newsletter subscribers have noted, we forgot to tell you where the Ravenswood Bank is located. We’re sorry for the error. You can find us on Sunday at the following address. Thanks to everyone that reminded us of this mistake.

2300 W. Lawrence
Chicago IL 60625

Now you can also help us out every time you search for something online by using a new friendly search engine called GoodSearch.

Using it is as simple as Yahoo or Google, but now your searches provide the fire arts center with a little extra income each year. Simply go to GoodSearch.com and in the box below where it says “Who Do You GoodSearch For?” enter “Fire Arts Center” and click “Verify.” It will then display that information in your browser every time to come to GoodSearch. Anytime you need to search for information online, go to GoodSearch and use their search engine instead. Your clicks will help raise money for us for supplies, tools, and more.

So please feel free to go check them out. We understand that you have your own way of searching online, but why not stop by and see what you think. And let us know what you think of it.

1907 N Mendell Street
Chicago, IL 60622
(click to view map)

We are still moving equipment and artwork over, little by little, so if you are unsure of where to meet please contact us to verify at 773.329.9908. Our classes are still meeting while we move things over so current students will be able to keep up their work in the meantime.

As always the decision to move is difficult, but we know we can better utilize this new space to continue offering some of the most unique art classes in the city of Chicago. We look forward to greeting you all at the new fire arts center of chicago.

The fire arts center is dedicated to the preservation of traditional sculpture technique in clay, metal, and stone. We offer classes to the community, kids programs, membership/employment opportunities to qualified artists.

You are invited to come out, see some great art, and learn about the basics of mold making and investment casting processes. Demos will be given in bronze casting, stone working, and forging.

12-2pm | stone carving demo
2-4pm | forging demo
4-5pm | bronze casting demo
5-7pm | gallery reception

The Fire Arts Center of Chicago
1934 N Campbell, Chicago IL

Here is the information from the ArtWalk homepage:

Special projects are very important to the Fire Art Center’s mission and goals. We aim to facilitate, and participate in, public art projects through outreach and collaboration with other community organizations. Join us Saturday, October 7th for a day of metal arts workshops and demonstrations. From noon - 5:30pm behind the Peter Jones Gallery at Belle Plaine and Ravenswood. Past projects have introduced adults and children with disabilities to the excitement of metal casting, and have taught high school students the joys of metalworking.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Stop by 1934 North Campbell Avenue this Saturday, July 15, between noon and 6:00pm to see our incredible new building. We will have food and drinks for you, as well as chances to see demonstrations and more. Instructors and members will be on hand to answer questions or show you around.

We look forward to seeing you all this weekend.