Spending a year welding in a metalworks might not be every young girl's dream, but for the Japanese artist Junko Mori it was a means of achieving her ambition to come to Britain to learn the art of blacksmithing. After going to art college in Japan, Junko discovered a love for creating sculptures made out of metal, and wanted to develop her art in Britain which has a tradition in blacksmithing that is respected and admired around the world. She wanted to gain the technical skills of the traditional British blacksmith, so she teamed up with Shropshire blacksmith Chris Stokes. The pair have been working together on an installation for the town of Ellesmere, and as Maggie Ayre discovered when she went to meet them at Chris' blacksmith works in Oswestry, both have been learning from each other.
Junko's work can also be seen from beginning of December at: the Victoria and Albert Museum in the Christmas showcase of contemporary craft until 14th January 2007.
