Sam Sherborne: Softening the blow: Stories told with fire and steel

Sam Sherborne is an artist blacksmith and the winner of the prestigious South Yorkshire wide open art competition, The Cooper Prize. He works from his forge in a converted pub’s beer cellar in Sheffield. Alongside running his own business for many years, he also taught art and design/technology to young people. He now concentrates on making steel sculptures: part machines for processing emotion and part figures for contemplation, like icons. These sculptures are often autobiographical, exploring memories and clarifying ideas. After making initial quick sketches tapping into serendipity and the unconscious, Sam aims to use his precise technical skills to bring the sketches’ energy and immediacy into metalwork. Stories both personal and universal are encapsulated in forged steel. Having an element of humour is important to Sam, even though some of the subject-matter is serious. The sculptures’ meanings are not meant to be too concrete or fixed; viewers can make up their own stories.

As a sculptor, Sam’s work is influenced by the rich tradition of metalworking in Sheffield. Recently, he has been exploring complex blacksmithing processes to articulate his interest in the interplay between religion, anxiety, and the human condition.

Communicating an emotion or feeling is paramount to his work, Sam enjoys immersing himself in blacksmithing. If a finished sculpture is moving, beautiful, or intriguing, and therapeutic to make, then he has achieved his aim.