The Artist-Blacksmith's Association of North America (ABANA) welcomes everyone from the professional to the hobbyist to the merely curious. We offer educational resources for every level of blacksmith and promote the National Curriculum as a structured, self-paced program of study to learn a broad range of blacksmithing skills. "We understand that a blacksmith is one who shapes and forges iron with hammer and anvil. The artist-blacksmith does this so as to unite the functional with the aesthetic, realizing that the two are inseparable. We, the members of the Artist-Blacksmiths' Association of North America, do join in our resolve to perpetuate the noble art of blacksmithing. With hammer and anvil, we will forge for mankind a richer life. We will preserve a meaningful bond with the past. We will serve the needs of the present, and we will forge a bridge to the future. Function and creativity is our purpose. Our task is great and so is our joy."