Theme: From the Garden

Time to channel Mother Nature for this exhibition! You are invited to submit ironwork forged for the garden (think gates, fountains, plant stakes, etc.) or work that is inspired by the garden (organic forms, floral motifs, etc.). Experiment, play, and have fun.

Deadline: August 1, 2024

Guidelines:

  • Use the online form to submit your info and images for the current exhibition theme.
  • You may submit previously executed work (completed within the past 2 years) or a piece made exclusively for this exhibition.
  • Work should be at least 50% forged.
  • If you wish to submit more than one (1) entry, please submit each entry separately.
  • This is open to everyone! ABANA membership is not required.
  • Selected works will be exhibited as part of the online group show. (This means not all submissions will be selected.)
  • We will also post a good number of submitted pieces on social media. (Again, this means that not all submissions will be posted.)
  • The online exhibition will run from September 1, 2024, through January 1, 2025.
  • The Anvil’s Ring, our quarterly publication focused on exceptional forged work, may also choose to publish a few works submitted for the online exhibition.

By submitting your work, you are granting permission for us to post your submission on any of our platforms, including, but not limited to, our website, our publications, and on social media. Credit will be given as listed on the form.

If you have any questions, send us an email.

Check out our other online exhibitions:

Darkness & Light will be on view through July 1, 2024. Visit the Exhibition.

Tools as Art will be on view June 1 through October 1, 2024. Visit the Exhibition.

Here’s the full calendar of upcoming online exhibitions so you can plan your entries! 

National Curriculum: Submission deadline November 1, 2024

Exhibition: December 1, 2024 – April 1, 2025

(Anything NC related: alternative grilles, detailed collars, full sets of projects, NC details in regular shop work, etc.)

Favorite Forgings of 2024: Submission deadline February 1, 2025

Exhibition: March 1, 2025 – July 1, 2025

Connections: Submission deadline May 1, 2025

Exhibition: June 1, 2025 – September 1, 2025

(Anything involving steel connected to steel or steel combined with another material.)

On the Edge: Submission deadline August 1, 2025

Exhibition: September 1, 2025 – January 1, 2026

(Sharp things: axes, froes, drawknives, blades, etc.)

Making Waves: Submission deadline November 1, 2025

Exhibition: December 1, 2025 – April 1, 2026

(Anything related to water: flowing lines, fountains, water scenes, etc.)

Call for Entries

ABANA Featured Forgings:

From the Garden

Submitted images should be in focus, free of clutter, and well composed. Think beyond resting the item on an anvil or open palm. Pay attention to what is present in the background – a sheet or blanket can make a suitable background. Leave some breathing room around the object – cropping too closely limits how the photos can be used. If you took the picture with your phone, look at it on a larger screen first to ensure it is not fuzzy or pixelated. Images that are of poor quality may not be shown. Professionally photographed items are welcome, but please list the photographer’s name in the description box so we can give credit. Poor quality images may not be included.

Your work could be selected to be shown in The Anvil’s Ring!

For consideration in The Anvil’s Ring print exhibition, a minimum of 180 dpi resolution .TIF or .JPEG photos in CMYK color format are strongly encouraged.
Cell phone pictures must be in jpeg format in the highest possible resolution. This can be adjusted in your phone’s camera app settings.
Proprietary file types such as .HEIC or .HEIF are not suitable for printing and cannot be included.
Are you currently an ABANA member? *
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Do we have your permission to use the information and images submitted for any and all uses related to this exhibition including, but not limited to: social media, the ABANA website, publications, promotional materials, and advertising? *