Joe (Strafford, MO) started welding and working with metal at age 13, and found a way to turn his industrial experience into an art form. He has been represented by art galleries throughout Missouri and has sculptures in municipal shows in Missouri, Illinois and Iowa.

John Engler (Battlefield MO) has been a professional woodcarver and watercolorist for over thirty years. He operates the John Engler and Associates Design Studio.

Alicia (Springfield, MO) has been included and recognized in numerous national and international exhibits. She recently received signature status in the prestigious National Watercolor Society, based in Los Angeles, CA. She was commissioned to create nine large acrylic paintings for the new Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C.

Ed (Melbourne, AR) has been exploring the wilds of Arkansas most of his life, and almost always with a camera in hand. After 34 years as a music educator, he retired to the Ozark hills with more time to concentrate on his photography. Ed is currently President of the Arkansas Craft Guild, Instructor for the Arkansas Craft School, and has been an artist on the Off The Beaten Path Studio Tour for 15 years.

Preston (Eureka Springs, AR) has many years of experience in all types of welding, having set up and run his own welding business, as well as a welding shop in Kansas City area for a large manufacturing facility.

Charles (Brasstown, NC) has taught woodworking at the John C. Campbell folk school since 2008, and teaches workshops nationwide on timber framing as well as woodworking.  He started woodworking on his grandparents’ back porch and it has been his passion ever since.

Misty (Palos Verdes Estates, CA) is a celebrated artist and educator. She has been widely published and her work is exhibited both nationally and internationally. Teaching and residencies: Kansas City Art Institute, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts, Vermont Studio Center, CRETA Rome, SACI Florence, and Studio Nong International Sculpture Collective.

Abraham (Sparta, TN) has been forging functional and art objects since 2006. He holds a BFA in Metals from the Appalachian Center for Craft where he has taught various workshops. He has exhibited his work throughout the country and has been running Pardee Metal LLC, full-time since 2016.

Lillian (Highlandville, MO) holds a BFA in Metals/jewelry from Missouri State University and is an art instructor for Springfield Art Museum, Springfield Regional Arts Council, and Placeworks. She teaches jewelry/metalsmithing classes through the museum and her work has been exhibited across America and in Japan.

Bert (Bentonville, AR) started his interest in blacksmithing while attending the grand opening of ESSA’s blacksmithing studio in 2014. He now has his own forging shop, The Smithin’ Jones Backyard Blacksmith Company, and is an active member of The Blacksmithing Organization of Arkansas. Bert joined ESSA’s Board of Directors in 2016. He also owns Gaskin’s Cabin Steakhouse in the Eureka Springs area.