Maxwell Anderson studied for a BA hons in Artist Blacksmithing at Hereford College of Arts, where a passion for forging and metalwork began. He quickly realised that his studies had just started and set out as a journeyman to really hone his new passion. After travelling and working both nationally and internationally, predominantly at the highly regarded Mystic Forge Ironworks in Calgary; Canada, under Master smith Mark Pearce, he has now established his own creative practice in the heart of his home county Herefordshire.

Max also now lectures, part time, on the Artist Blacksmithing BA Hons course at Hereford College of Arts, the course that started it all for him. He thoroughly enjoys any opportunity with the material to explore the innate qualities of the medium, aiming to produce outcomes that capture moment and fluidity, breaking conventions that steel is a rigid uncompromising material, and enabling people to see it as he does; a material capable of infinite potential.

‘‘As an artist blacksmith, I find myself captivated by the inherent qualities of the material I work with. Steel when heated becomes a malleable medium that responds to the heat of the forge and the force of the hammer. It’s through this transformative process that I seek to express my creative voice.’’