James Taylor Wins Prestigious Center for Metal Arts Scholarship

Name: Hereford College of Arts
Price range: $

Published

4th June 2026
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In the run-up to the degree show, students work hard at the anvil preparing their pieces. Among this year’s graduates, James Taylor has already built strong foundations, winning a scholarship to attend the Center for Metal Arts ‘School is Cool’ programme.

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Blacksmithing
Metal
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School of Materials & Design

Center for Metal Arts

CMA is based in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It is an organisation that is committed to maintaining a high-quality educational forging programme in a superbly equipped facility. CMA is deeply rooted in the tradition and history of blacksmithing; reflecting the industrial heritage of Johnstown. The workshop is based in the oldest iron and steel industry site in the town.

CMA is headed up by executive director Patrick Quinn. Quinn is an accomplished smith and has previously led a masterclass, given online workshops and talks to Artist Blacksmithing students at HCA.

School is Cool

A Four-Week Program for Aspiring Educators
During this educational intensive, students will be challenged to develop a 2 - 3 day hands-on forging workshop based on their interest and what they value about the craft. Ample time will be allotted to research a few ideas and shop time to work through all the technical aspects of the subject of your class will be given with help available from the CMA instructors. Once the students have worked through their project each one will be given the opportunity to teach their class to the other students through a series of mini three day workshops hosted by each student.

James Taylor

‘Teaching and running classes has always been one of my main goals within blacksmithing. When I had the opportunity to apply for the ‘School is Cool’ programme at the Center for Metal Arts I felt as though it would be perfect for my professional development. The four-week programme is centred around a collaborative working environment with each of the participants leading a 2-3 day workshop for the others. I have been fortunate to receive a scholarship from the Windgate Foundation which will enable me to take this programme in October. I hope that the lessons I learn will form the basis of a career centred around the teaching of both the practical and theoretical aspects of forged metal.’ James Taylor

My practice engages with the coastal landscapes of Cornwall, identifying transitory ‘conduit points’ at the interface of land and sea. Through site-based immersion and material exploration, I seek to amplify natural forces, allowing the inherent properties of forged metal to shape its form. The work is informed by personal experience, where familiarity with place informs the generative capacities of metal.

Dissertation Title: Situating Agency – Assemblages of Place, Material and Maker