Mhairi Fraser - Blacksmith

Mhairi Fraser is an artistic blacksmith. She graduated from Hereford College of Art in 2012 where she was awarded the annual graduate award for Artist Blacksmithing. She is currently based in West Lothian where she is working on her own projects as well as teaching blacksmithing to students at Oatridge Agricultural College.

Hi Mhairi, you are an artistic blacksmith, what does that involve exactly?

Blacksmithing involves working metal (usually mild steel) by heating it in either a gas furnace or solid fuel forge and then working it hot with a hammer and various other tools on the anvil, to create functional, sculptural or architectural objects. Basically it involves a lot of hard work, but is very rewarding!

Blacksmithing is quite a specialised profession, what attracted you to it?

Well to be honest it was way back in high school when I didn't really have a clue what I wanted to do that I discovered blacksmithing. Until then I didn't know much about it if anything at all. I enjoyed art and jewellery making so I thought I would go off to art school and make a career out of that, but it was a chance conversation at my personal development placement (The Line Gallery) which ended up with me going on a three day blacksmithing course at Ratho Byres Forge. I instantly fell in love with it! I think there's a kind of magic in being able to take a bit of metal bar and make it into something beautiful and I knew then I wanted to learn how to do it!

The blacksmiths at Ratho told me about a forging course at Oatridge College so I applied there and was accepted and my tutor there suggested I apply to Hereford College of Arts, which is currently the only college in the UK to offer a BA(Hons) degree in Artistic Blacksmithing. I didn't think I was going to be able to get to Hereford because of the limited places and the cost of actually studying there, but I knew if I didn't try I would regret it the rest of my life.

So it was really a case of being in the right place at the right time and working hard to get to where I wanted to be!

What is the process from idea to finished piece? What are your inspirations?

The process is a little different for everyone I think because people work in different ways. For me the process starts with my sketchbook. I draw anything down which relates to the idea and work from there. If it's a commission then the idea comes from the client and the inspiration is whatever they think would suit. I would usually have a meeting to discuss ideas and do some rough drawings of what I think could work for them. Then if I get the go ahead I work out prices and when we agree on something I start work. It usually involves some model making out of wire and then I work out details like dimensions and fixings and proportions. Once that's done it's straight into making, although sometimes there's a bit of experimenting. Sometimes when you're half way through a project you discover something by accident, which ends up working really well! Of course there's always the chance of the opposite happening and you realise that what you thought would work really well just doesn't look right!! I think there's always going to be a bit of uncertainty because of the nature of the work - If it's never been done before, how can you know what it's going to turn out like?

If I'm working on something for myself - something I think I can put in a gallery or exhibition, then it's a bit different. I have a back log of ideas which have built up in the form of sketchbooks over the past five years. I have around forty books now, so there's a lot of different kinds of work I can look through and if something interests me I can start the design process again.

To be honest I think most of the ideas come from looking around at the world and thinking 'How could I apply that to forging?'. It's as simple and as difficult as that.

Do you find that people are surprised that you are a woman working in, what I assume is, quite a male dominated environment? Do people treat you differently?

I think people are definitely surprised because blacksmithing is such a physically demanding profession and it is for the most part as you said 'a male dominated environment'. I think there's a lot more women blacksmiths than you would think though and I was surprised myself when I found out how many female smiths were competing with some of the most well know male smiths. My forging tutor, (now colleague) at Oatridge is a woman and when I first met her I was surprised. I think it's a natural reaction that when someone says blacksmith you think 'man'.

I would have to say yes, people treat me differently until they see me work. Then they realise I can work just as hard as any of the male smiths. I have to admit taking a bit of pride in being able to keep up with them, even surpass them. It's all about how serious you are about your work. I learned that from one of the guys I graduated with.

What are you working on at the moment? And what are your hopes for the future?

At the moment I'm working on a few different projects. In this job you have to be able to juggle a few different pieces of work at a time! I have some curtain rail brackets that I'm making for a house, which is being renovated. I might also get the chance to make some other pieces of work for the house like some candle holders and other small objects. I'm also making a railing/screen for a set of steps, which is going to look like bulrushes to blend in with the surrounding wildlife and a garden sculpture in the form of a heron.

My hopes for the future...
Well I'm currently based at Oatridge College because I'm using the forges there as well as helping to teach some of the students. I'd like to think I could find a permanent placement as a blacksmithing tutor at some point down the line because I love teaching.

I would like to study abroad because I still have so much to learn and I think it would be really great to see different places and different styles of work. I would like to have my own workshop. I don't think I'm ready to start up my own business yet but someday I would like to be able to find a nice place and settle down to work for myself. Maybe start my own blacksmithing courses? That's the dream anyway!

Cheers,

G