Work & Teaching Experience
2014-Present Owner of Jon Shearin Forge LLC
2011-Present Lead Fabricator for artist Randy Polumbo - Plant NYC - Manhattan, NY.
8/2012 Instructor - Penland School of Crafts - Penland, NC.
2008-2011 Head of the Iron Department - Penland School of Crafts - Penland, NC.
04/2010 Featured Demonstrator - Fire on the Mountain Blacksmithing Festival - Spruce Pine, NC.
03/2010 Workshop Instructor for University of North Carolina at Wilmington sculpture department.
03-05/2008 Assistant Instructor to sculptor LeeAnn Mitchell - Penland School of Crafts - Penland, NC.
02/2007 Assistant Instructor to blacksmith Susan Hutchinson - John C. Campbell Folk School - Brasstown, NC.
11-12/2006 Assistant to sculptor Michael Sherrill - Kohler Residency - Kohler, WI.
2002-2006 McConnell Studios, Inc. - Raleigh, NC- Sculptor’s Assistant and Project Manager.
Education
2006-2008 Penland School of Crafts: Penland Core Fellowship Program. Focusing on iron and metalwork.
1998-2002 North Carolina State University: Bachelor’s Degree in Art and Design.
Job Related Skills
Proficient in the operation and proper maintenance of the following equipment:
Mig welder, Tig welder, stick welder, oxy/acetylene torch setup, oxy/propane torch setup, plasma cutter, band saw – vertical, horizontal, & portable, Ironworker hydraulic shear, chop saw – abrasive, carburindum, & miter box, table saw, jig saw, jump shear, beverly shear, pedestal grinder, belt sander, disc sander, 4 1/2” & 9” angle grinders, die grinder, drill press, slip roller, sheet metal brake, fly press, hydraulic press, media blaster, coal forge, propane gas forge, power hammer – Reiter, Sahinler, & Say-mak.
Proficient in the following blacksmithing & metalsmithing techniques:
Tapering, cutting, bending, twisting, splitting, upsetting, shouldering, fullering, punching, slitting, drifting, sinking, raising, chasing, repoussee, collaring, mortise & tenon joinery, inflation, forge welding – loop, jump, bundle, lap, butt, angle, T, & cleft, Damascus pattern welding, normalizing, annealing, hardening, & tempering of a variety of tool steels, vitreous enameling, etching, engraving, filing, and well versed in the application of a wide array of patinas, finishes, & sealers for both indoor & outdoor use.
Publications
Ironwork Today IV: Inside & Out by Catherine Mallette, Schiffer Publishing, 2014.
Ironwork Today III: Inside & Out by Jeffrey B. Snyder, Schiffer Publishing, 2011.
From Fire to Form: Sculpture from the Modern Blacksmith & Metalsmith by Mathew S. Clarke, Schiffer Publishing, 2009.
Selected Exhibitions & Commissions
2013
Invited to donate work to the Penland School of Crafts 28th Annual Benefit Auction.
2012
Forged: Hosted by the Target Gallery at the Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, VA.
Invited to donate work to the Penland School of Crafts 27th Annual Benefit Auction.
2011
Art on Main: Hosted by Public Art Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN. Received a $5000 submission award.
Work purchased to remain in the permanent collection of Public Art Chattanooga.
International Artist Blacksmith’s Forge-in: Monaghan, Ireland. Worked with blacksmith Tom Joyce.
2010
Iron: Forged, Tempered, Quenched: Hosted by the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX
Sculpture Salmagundi XIV: Hosted by the Imperial Centre for the Arts & Sciences, Rocky Mount, NC
Iron:2010: Hosted by the National Ornamental Metal Museum, Memphis, TN
Commissioned by the Penland School of Crafts to create 4 sections of stair railings along the Craft House.
2009
The New Steel v2: Hosted by the National Ornamental Metal Museum, Memphis, TN
Via Penland: Hosted by Rebus Works Gallery, Raleigh, NC.
2008
Winter Invitational: Hosted by the Greenhill Center for Art, Greensboro, NC
Fe NC: Hosted by Push Gallery, Asheville, NC
2007
The New Steel: Coordinated by the National Ornamental Metal Museum and hosted by Delta Axis Gallery, Memphis TN for the Society of North American Goldsmith’s 2007 National Conference.
Blacksmithing with a Southern Accent: Metalwork from the Southeast: Hosted by the Madison–Morgan Cultural Center, Madison, GA in conjunction with the Artist Blacksmith’s Association of North America, Inc.