World blacksmithing win
Michelle J Parker, an artist blacksmith and lecturer at
Warwickshire College has won the title of 'World Women’s
Blacksmithing Champion' at the European Biennial of the Blacksmiths
in the village of Stia in Tuscany, Italy.
The competition was held from 1-4 September and attracted
blacksmiths from all over the world who came together to exchange
ideas and innovations, but most importantly, to compete for the
coveted championship titles.
Michelle is at the very top of her profession. She is the first
woman in 600 years to be made a Fellow of the Worshipful Company of
Blacksmiths and it was they who sponsored her to enter the
competition.
She has been awarded their prestigious Bronze medal and in 2008,
she was also granted the honour of the Freedom of the City of
London Michelle has been a master blacksmith for over twenty years,
runs her own business and is forge manager at Warwickshire
College.
The college is one of the few nationwide to teach blacksmithing and farriery, with an unrivalled
reputation in this area. Students – who study either full- or
part-time – have themselves won many awards at national shows for
their creative ironwork.
Whilst the competition takes place, the small village of Stia is
completely overtaken by blacksmiths and visitors from all over the
world. The forges are set up in the main street and all forging
takes place under the blazing sun. Competitors are given the theme
for the competition at short notice and have just 3 hours to create
a winning entry.
This year, the theme was ‘evolution’ and Michelle sculpted a
prehistoric creature, which she depicted in motion whilst grasping
a book in its claw.
Commenting on her win, Michelle said: “I am delighted to have
won my category of the competition. The competitive pressure was
intense and it was magnified by only having 3 hours in which to
work.
"Amongst my students at college, there are many female
blacksmiths and I do hope that my win will inspire them too. I have
great hopes that we will be able to enter them for the next
competition in two years’ time.”
Michelle believes in and teaches traditional forging, but also
uses her creativity to explore the endless possibilities of working
expressively with iron. There are many photographs of Michelle’s
creations on her website at www.mjpblacksmith.com.