JASPER NATIVE RETURNS HOME WITH CANADIAN ARTIST-BLACKSMITH FOR FREE EVENT AT DUBOIS COUNTY MUSEUM

What can a blacksmith discover by forging a different hook every day for an entire year? 

On Tuesday, November 17, 2026, Canadian artist-blacksmith Matt Jenkins and Jasper native Karen Rudolph will answer that question when they bring the remarkable #366Hooks project to the Dubois County Museum for a free public open house and artist talk. 

The open house will run from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m., with the artist talk scheduled from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. Admission is free, and all ages are welcome. 

Rudolph grew up in Jasper, giving the event a special connection to the community, the museum, and the region’s blacksmithing tradition. She and Jenkins now operate Cloverdale Forge, an artist-blacksmith studio located just outside Winnipeg, Manitoba. Together, they have more than 40 years of metalworking experience and create distinctive hand-forged ironwork for the cottage, kitchen, home, and garden. 

During the presentation, Jenkins and Rudolph will introduce guests to the history of blacksmithing and explore how contemporary artist-blacksmiths are carrying the craft forward. They will also take the audience behind the scenes at Cloverdale Forge, sharing stories about their studio, custom projects, product line, international demonstrations, and the community they have built through teaching. 
 
At the heart of the evening will be the creative potential of hot metal, a material that may appear rigid and unyielding but becomes remarkably fluid in the hands of a skilled blacksmith. Jenkins will illustrate that potential through the story of #366Hooks, the year-long creative challenge he began on January 1, 2016. His goal was deceptively simple: design and forge one different hook every day for a year. Because 2016 was a leap year, the completed project contained 366 original hooks. 

Using a wide range of traditional tools, forging techniques, and design approaches, Jenkins transformed the familiar hook into an exploration of line, texture, movement, function, and form. Some hooks are playful, some sculptural, and others elegantly practical, but each began with the same basic material: steel heated in a forge and shaped by hammer and anvil. 

What started as Jenkins’ personal effort to break out of a creative rut soon attracted an international following of artists, designers, professional blacksmiths and hobby smiths. The complete collection debuted as a solo exhibition at the Manitoba Craft Council in Winnipeg in 2018. From 2022 to 2023, #366Hooks toured throughout Canada and the United States, with stops in Arizona, Nebraska, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Ontario. 

Several original display boards from the exhibition will be displayed at the museum, giving visitors the opportunity to see dozens of the hooks together and experience the project’s extraordinary range of forms, textures, and ideas. 

“We’re excited to bring the #366Hooks project to Jasper, especially because it is Karen’s hometown,” said Jenkins. “This project began as a personal creative challenge, but it became a way to show just how expressive forged metal can be. We hope people leave the evening looking at blacksmithing, and even an everyday object like a hook, with fresh eyes.” 

The project eventually became the book HOOKED: A Blacksmith’s Study of Function Through Form. Part coffee-table book, part forging guide and part source of design inspiration, the 187- page hardcover volume documents the complete project through more than 366 images, step-by- step drawings, background stories and insights from the forge. 

The evening will offer plenty to explore beyond the artist talk. Visitors can make their own buttons using proofs from the book’s printing process, try their hand at a hook toss game, and view original work from the exhibition. Jenkins will sign copies of HOOKED following the presentation. 

Copies of the book will be available for purchase throughout the evening. The event will take place at the Dubois County Museum, 2704 N. Newton St., Jasper, Indiana. 
 
EVENT AT A GLANCE 
What: Cloverdale Forge Open House and Artist Talk 
When: Tuesday, November 17, 2026 
Open House: 6:00–8:30 p.m. 
Artist Talk: 6:30–7:15 p.m.  
Where: Dubois County Museum, 2704 N. Newton St., Jasper, IN 47546 
Admission: Free; all ages are welcome 
More information: duboiscountymuseum.org 

ABOUT MATT JENKINS 
Matt’s interest in making began in childhood, shaped by early exposure to tools and construction sites. He honed his skills at the blacksmith shop at Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site and through earning a mechanical engineering degree from McGill University. Over the past 30 years, he has refined his practice through study with master smiths across North America. Matt has earned international recognition at the World Forging Championship in Stia, Italy. He received an Honorable Mention in team forging in 2009 and first place in Drawing and Design in 2015. In 2016, he undertook the #366Hooks project, forging a different hook every day for a full leap year. That project later evolved into his 2024 book, HOOKED: A Blacksmith’s Study of Function Through Form. He continues to teach and demonstrate internationally. 

ABOUT CLOVERDALE FORGE 
Located just outside Winnipeg, Manitoba, Cloverdale Forge is the artist-blacksmith studio of Matt Jenkins and Karen Rudolph. With more than 40 years of combined metalworking experience, they blend traditional blacksmithing techniques with thoughtful contemporary design to create distinctive ironwork by hand using hammers and anvils. Their work includes custom architectural ironwork and a collection of functional objects for the cottage, kitchen, home, and garden. Learn more at cloverdaleforge.com.