Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center upcoming events

Creating Curves with Oxy-Acetylene and Blacksmithing Techniques (Sat, August 01, 2026)

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 15:00:00 GMT

In this intro to bending workshop, you'll learn how to harness the heat of the flame to create intricate and complex bends and shapes. You'll learn and practice techniques using an oxy-acetylene torch and blacksmithing forge. By pairing these two tools, you'll create a tabletop sculpture that bends and wraps around itself and stands on its own without any welding necessary. Leave this class a master at making squiggles! Materials for practice are provided and you are welcome to create your personal project using our scrap or you can purchase your own metal stock.

No prior experience is necessary though some blacksmithing and/or oxy-acetylene knowledge is a plus.

$295 ($270 tuition + $25 materials) | 6 weeks
Open to ages 18 and up, or 17 with a parent/guardian in attendance.

Instructor: Becca Cerra

Bowls & Spoons: Community Spoon-Forging Workshop (Sat, August 01, 2026)

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 18:30:00 GMT

Free Community Workshop!

Help us make hand-forged spoons for the Bowls & Spoons Harvest Feast while learning some basic blacksmithing techniques! You’ll work with hammer, anvil, and forge to dish the spoon and finish the handle with decorative twists or curves. If you’ve ever wanted to give blacksmithing a try, here’s your chance! No experience necessary.

The Bowls & Spoons Harvest Feast is a community celebration of nourishment, creativity, and care, held at George Floyd Square on the first Saturday of October. The spoons we create are available for sale at the event, along with handmade bowls by Mudluk Pottery, to help support this annual event. More details about this year's event on October 3 coming this summer!

FREE!
Open to ages 16 and up.

Instructor: Gaea Dill-D'Ascoli

Blacksmithing Basics 1 (TUE AFTN) (Tue, August 04, 2026)

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 19:00:00 GMT

If you had a hammer, would you use it to drive a nail? Or would you rather use it to forge a nail from red hot iron? This course is designed to ignite your passion for blacksmithing and introduce you to the seemingly endless ways of expressing yourself by shaping iron with fire and hammer. You'll gain basic knowledge of iron and its characteristics, an understanding of the dynamics of forging, and the ability to safely shape iron with heat and a hammer.

By the end of class, you'll have covered the basic forging processes, including drawing and tapering, splitting, cutting, drifting, punching, twisting, upsetting. You'll develop those skills through projects such as: hooks, utensils, bottle openers, trivets, and forging tools.

$415 ($360 tuition + $55 materials) | 8 weeks
Open to ages 18 and up, or 17 with a parent/guardian in attendance.

Instructor: Becca Cerra

Blacksmithing Project Shop: Creatures & Critters (Tue, August 04, 2026)

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Want a metal friend? Come make a pocket-size companion or two! In this 3-session class, we'll combine blacksmithing fundamentals into creative projects like whales, owls, and snails. No experience is necessary, but if you've swung a hammer before, this class will give you the opportunity to think through your skills in new ways. At the end of the class, you'll have 2-3 hand-made critters to decorate their keychains, desks, or keep in your pocket.

$170 ($135 tuition + $35 materials)
Open to ages 18 and up.

Instructor: Gaea Dill-D'Ascoli

Creating Curves with Oxy-Acetylene and Blacksmithing Techniques (Sat, August 08, 2026)

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 15:00:00 GMT

No prior experience is necessary though some blacksmithing and/or oxy-acetylene knowledge is a plus.

$295 ($270 tuition + $25 materials) | 6 weeks
Open to ages 18 and up, or 17 with a parent/guardian in attendance.

Instructor: Becca Cerra

Blacksmithing Project Shop: Hair Accessories (Sun, August 09, 2026)

Sun, 09 Aug 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Keep your flowing locks in place with hand-forged hair accessories that you'll craft yourself in this introductory blacksmithing workshop! We'll start by crafting a straight hairpin, practicing bends and twists along the way. Then you can continue making straight pins or veer into curved pieces to go with your hairpin. You'll be introduced to and practice basics blacksmithing techniques while you twist and taper your hair accessories to your satisfaction. No experience necessary.

$90 ($75 tuition + $15 materials)
Open to ages 16 and up.

Instructor: Gaea Dill-D'Ascoli

Blacksmithing Basics 1 (TUE AFTN) (Tue, August 11, 2026)

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 19:00:00 GMT

$415 ($360 tuition + $55 materials) | 8 weeks
Open to ages 18 and up, or 17 with a parent/guardian in attendance.

Instructor: Becca Cerra

Blacksmithing Project Shop: Creatures & Critters (Tue, August 11, 2026)

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 23:00:00 GMT

$170 ($135 tuition + $35 materials)
Open to ages 18 and up.

Instructor: Gaea Dill-D'Ascoli

Creating Curves with Oxy-Acetylene and Blacksmithing Techniques (Sat, August 15, 2026)

Sat, 15 Aug 2026 15:00:00 GMT

No prior experience is necessary though some blacksmithing and/or oxy-acetylene knowledge is a plus.

$295 ($270 tuition + $25 materials) | 6 weeks
Open to ages 18 and up, or 17 with a parent/guardian in attendance.

Instructor: Becca Cerra

Blacksmithing Basics 1 (TUE AFTN) (Tue, August 18, 2026)

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 19:00:00 GMT

$415 ($360 tuition + $55 materials) | 8 weeks
Open to ages 18 and up, or 17 with a parent/guardian in attendance.

Instructor: Becca Cerra

Blacksmithing Project Shop: Creatures & Critters (Tue, August 18, 2026)

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 23:00:00 GMT

$170 ($135 tuition + $35 materials)
Open to ages 18 and up.

Instructor: Gaea Dill-D'Ascoli

Bowls & Spoons: Community Spoon-Forging Workshop (Fri, August 21, 2026)

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 21:00:00 GMT

Free Community Workshop!

FREE!
Open to ages 16 and up.

Instructor: Dani Sanchez

Blacksmithing Basics 1 (TUE AFTN) (Tue, August 25, 2026)

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 19:00:00 GMT

$415 ($360 tuition + $55 materials) | 8 weeks
Open to ages 18 and up, or 17 with a parent/guardian in attendance.

Instructor: Becca Cerra

Blacksmithing Project Shop: Pizza Rocker (Tue, August 25, 2026)

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Combine your love of food with forging in this introductory blacksmithing workshop! You'll learn and practice basic blacksmithing processes while making a pizzeria-style curved pizza rocker with two handles, ideal for your pizza slicing needs. We'll start by covering safety in the smithy and then move on to manipulating metal with heat and hammer. Your pizza rocker will include twists, bends, and an edge bevel.

Open to beginners, but this is a project that requires a significant amount of heavy hammering, so you'll be more successful if you have some blacksmithing experience.

At the end of class, we'll order a couple pizzas from Jakeeno's and you can try out your new rocker! (Note: pizza time may run beyond class time, so plan on staying a bit later on the final day.)

$170 ($135 tuition + $35 materials & pizza!)
Open to ages 16 and up.

Instructor: Sergey Vaynshenk

Blacksmithing Project Shop: Hori Hori Garden Tool (Wed, August 26, 2026)

Wed, 26 Aug 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Hammer your way to a unique gardening tool to use for many summers to come! In this workshop, you'll make a unique, hand-forged hori hori garden knife. This traditional Japanese hand tool (meaning dig-dig) can be used for all your digging, planting and weeding needs. You'll gain a solid understanding of blacksmithing basics by learning key forging techniques such as drawing out and tapering as you create the blade of your hori hori. This class is designed for enthusiasts of beginner to intermediate skill levels who are eager to learn the traditional techniques of metalworking.

$170 ($135 tuition + $35 materials)
Open to ages 18 and up.

Instructor: Sergey Vaynshenk

Blacksmithing Project Shop: Pizza Rocker (Tue, September 01, 2026)

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Open to beginners, but this is a project that requires a significant amount of heavy hammering, so you'll be more successful if you have some blacksmithing experience.

At the end of class, we'll order a couple pizzas from Jakeeno's and you can try out your new rocker! (Note: pizza time may run beyond class time, so plan on staying a bit later on the final day.)

$170 ($135 tuition + $35 materials & pizza!)
Open to ages 16 and up.

Instructor: Sergey Vaynshenk

Blacksmithing Project Shop: Hori Hori Garden Tool (Wed, September 02, 2026)

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 23:00:00 GMT

$170 ($135 tuition + $35 materials)
Open to ages 18 and up.

Instructor: Sergey Vaynshenk

Blacksmithing Project Shop: Pizza Rocker (Tue, September 08, 2026)

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Open to beginners, but this is a project that requires a significant amount of heavy hammering, so you'll be more successful if you have some blacksmithing experience.

At the end of class, we'll order a couple pizzas from Jakeeno's and you can try out your new rocker! (Note: pizza time may run beyond class time, so plan on staying a bit later on the final day.)

$170 ($135 tuition + $35 materials & pizza!)
Open to ages 16 and up.

Instructor: Sergey Vaynshenk

Blacksmithing Project Shop: Hori Hori Garden Tool (Wed, September 09, 2026)

Wed, 09 Sep 2026 23:00:00 GMT

$170 ($135 tuition + $35 materials)
Open to ages 18 and up.

Instructor: Sergey Vaynshenk

Blacksmithing Project Shop: Whimsical Wand Forging (Sat, September 12, 2026)

Sat, 12 Sep 2026 15:00:00 GMT

In this workshop, you'll learn how to use a hammer and flame to fashion a piece of metal into a wand of iron as well as a familiar/companion piece for your wand. Through these pieces, the basics of forging will be covered: tapering, twisting, scrolling, upsetting, as well as other forms of bending, shaping, and finishing. As time and interest allow, we can also explore specialized techniques such as punching, chiseling, engraving, and sparkling (a finishing technique invented by the instructor!).

Open to all skill levels -- no experience necessary.

$110 ($90 tuition + $20 materials)
Open to ages 16 and up.

Instructor: Helene Constantine

Coal Forge Blacksmithing Project Shop: Fire Poker (Sat, September 12, 2026)

Sat, 12 Sep 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Join us for a one-day intro to the basics of blacksmithing at Dodge Nature Center's open air smithy at Shepard Farm!

Register here through Dodge Nature Center.

Questions? Get in touch with us at info@cafac.org.

In this class you will transform a piece of raw metal into an artistic yet functional fire poker for your fireplace or fire pit. You'll learn about traditional methods and equipment, including the coal forge, hammer, tongs, and anvil. To create your custom hand-forged piece, you'll practice essential skills: taper, bend, twist, forge weld, and collar. Open to beginners, though some forging experience will be helpful.

$140 (includes all supplies and materials)
Open to ages 18 and up.

Instructor: Lee Meilleur

Blacksmithing Project Shop: Bottle Openers for Beginners (Sun, September 13, 2026)

Sun, 13 Sep 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Build your blacksmith skills with a fun and useful project: making a bottle opener. They’re quick to make and can incorporate all basic blacksmithing processes in one compact project. We'll end class with a celebratory bottle-opening to try out your new tool - that means a beer or soda is included! No experience necessary.

$100 ($75 tuition + $25 materials)
Open to ages 16 and up.

Instructor: Gaea Dill-D'Ascoli

Unfinished Business: Finishing Techniques for Metalwork (Tue, September 15, 2026)

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Join us for a one-day workshop that's all about taking your metal artwork across the finish line.

In this hands-on class, you’ll learn how to safely and confidently use angle grinders, die grinders, dremels, and other finishing tools to refine surfaces and remove casting or weld marks. We’ll also dive into needle scalers and sandblasters for texturing and cleanup, giving you a full toolkit for professional-quality finishes. A comprehensive patina demo will introduce you to color, oxidation, and sealing options so your work looks intentional and gallery-ready. This class is perfect for past casting students who have unfinished pieces waiting for attention, as well as artists who want to add hardware or make minor adjustments so their work functions smoothly. Bring your “almost done” projects and leave with completed, exhibition-ready metal sculpture.

$90 ($75 tuition + $15 materials)
Open to ages 18 and up.

Instructor: Brighton McCormick

Blacksmithing Project Shop: Penannular Brooch (Tue, September 22, 2026)

Tue, 22 Sep 2026 22:30:00 GMT

Want to pin your kilt or cloak, or add a clever brooch to your scarf? Have an appreciation for Celtic fashion? In this introductory blacksmithing workshop, you'll make a penannular brooch of your very own! Penannular refers to an incomplete ring, which when combined with a pin serves as a clothing fastener. You'll be introduced to and practice basics blacksmithing techniques while you twist and taper your penannular and sharpen its accompanying pin. No experience necessary.

$85 ($70 tuition + $15 materials)
Open to ages 16 and up.

Instructor: Gaea Dill-D'Ascoli

Blacksmithing Project Shop: Spoon-Making (Fri, September 25, 2026)

Fri, 25 Sep 2026 20:00:00 GMT

Dip your fingers into basic blacksmithing and come out with a spoon, suitable for slurping soup (or anything else you'd eat with a spoon). In this short workshop, you'll learn basic blacksmithing techniques and have fun creating a unique and functional piece. We'll start with pre-cut spoon blanks, then dish the spoon using hammer and swage block, and finish the handle with twists, curves, or other decorative techniques.

You'll make two spoons - one to keep for yourself, and one for our Bowls & Spoons Harvest Feast happening this fall! No experience necessary.

$85 ($70 tuition + $15 materials)
Open to ages 16 and up.

Instructor: Gaea Dill-D'Ascoli