10/22/2025
VERY VERY SPECIAL GUEST TO THE SOUTHBOUND AND DOWN SMACKDOWN SWINE SHOW THIS YEAR!!! Hands Down, Probably one of the best artist and sculptors you will ever see or meet and an even human being!
So proud to announce that Jared Schlipf will be Nick Mauck and Southbound and Down's special guest in Tampa!! Truly honored and humbled to have a talent and a person of his caliber at our Show this year! So, Showman be ready Top 10 Showmanship will win a Jared Schlipf Showpig Christmas ornament and a Graced by God Devotional for Showman!! For people that dont know, Jared had a medical emergency in July and his God given talent as an artist has been put on hold! Here is his story below! Cannot Wait!
Dear Friends and Customers,
July 2nd, 2025 started like any other day. I woke up at 5:30 AM and noticed blurred vision in my right eye. I went about my normal routine, but my sight didn’t improve. When I picked up the carving I had been working on the day before, I realized I couldn’t process it visually.
By 9:10 a.m., I was at my eye doctor for an emergency appointment. From there, I was sent to the ER, and by 10:40 a.m., I was completely blind in my right (and dominant) eye. A CT scan confirmed I had suffered an eye stroke. A blood clot had shut off the oxygen and blood flow to my eye, and the possibility of my sight returning was left only to a miracle.
This was my worst nightmare as an artist, and with great sadness, I must share that I can no longer carve. Wood carving has been my passion for many years and my livelihood for the last seven. It has been an honor to create pieces for so many of you.
I’m deeply grateful for your kindness, encouragement, and support over the years, and I ask for your continued prayers as I begin this new chapter. I may not know what’s next, but I’m excited to see how the Lord will work through this platform and through me in new ways.
—Jared Schlipf