![PLAYING WITH FIRE](https://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/9320/393803/5df9d689eb83f/PLAYING-WITH-FIRE.jpg)
Artists work in many mediums – but few imbue the physicality of metalworking. But for blacksmith Bex Simon it fulfils her passion for building installations.
Bex’s journey to this unusual medium began with a degree in three-dimensional design. “But realised I couldn’t swing a hammer properly,” she says. “So went to study blacksmithing at Hereford College of Technology and ended up studying there for two years.” She returned to her studies with a further two year course in 2015 and won a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship to study at the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts in Shoreditch, where she has been studying Geometry.
“I have been creating commissioned work since 1999 but my dream is to create my own artwork from my studies, design and building installations in galleries and outdoor spaces.”
She set up BexSimon in 1999, exhibiting regularly at RHS Chelsea and Hampton Court Flower shows, mainly working for private clients. Like many artists, the path to pure creativity was paved with more practical work. “In 2010 my husband Dave joined the business after we created a cast iron kitchen range as a result of a TV programme called High Street Dreams.
Denne historien er fra January 2020-utgaven av Devon Life.
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Denne historien er fra January 2020-utgaven av Devon Life.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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![Legends Of Lockdown](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/9320/539835/5f96eb095a328/crp_Legends-of-lockdown.jpg)
Legends Of Lockdown
A new online exhibition features an array of Devon’s lockdown legends exploring their lives and communities during the pandemic restrictions
![Look Out For Intelligent Slime!](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/9320/539835/5f96d3887d043/crp_Look-out-for-intelligent-slime.jpg)
Look Out For Intelligent Slime!
Think you know your waxcaps from your dog vomit slime mould? Exmoor’s conservation team needs our help to record the pretty and the not-so-pretty wildlife living in this unique national park. finds out more
![Retirement redefined](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/9320/539835/5f96ec64b636e/crp_Retirement-redefined.jpg)
Retirement redefined
Millbrook Village’s Leah Jackson talks to AMELIA THURSTON about how wellbeing and quality of life are at the heart of the later living community
![Look to the future](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/9320/539835/5f96da9273c6f/crp_Look-to-the-future.jpg)
Look to the future
SU CARROLL talks to Sir Antony Gormley about his contribution to Devon’s artistic life
![Natural beauty](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/9320/539835/5f96dfdb66807/crp_Natural-beauty.jpg)
Natural beauty
Working with nature and the cycle of seasons, a new flower farm is blossoming in a fold of the beautiful River Teign valley
![THE DIARY](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/9320/539835/5f96e49ee75b8/crp_THEDIARY.jpg)
THE DIARY
SU CARROLL recommends the best events across the county this month
![My kinda city...](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/9320/539835/5f96e1c3c70e8/crp_My-kinda-city.jpg)
My kinda city...
With the perfect balance of country and city life, Exeter still shines as the jewel of the West. STEPHANIE DARKES shares her insider insights into the city that stole her heart
![Letting themselves in for hard work...](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/9320/539835/5f96dc727d87d/crp_Letting-themselves-in-for-hard-work.jpg)
Letting themselves in for hard work...
Renovating your entire house is tough. Renovating someone else’s seven-bedroom Grade-II listed Georgian farmhouse and turning it into a high-end holiday let is even trickier. CHRISSY HARRIS went to Kingston see how it’s done
![Lessons from history](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/9320/539835/5f96e827926c7/crp_Lessons-from-history.jpg)
Lessons from history
History author Ian Mortimer has taken readers on travels through time from the Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution. STU LAMBERT asks him how our country and our county changed in Regency times
![A Reform character](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/9320/539835/5f96d9521b1ae/crp_A-Reform-character.jpg)
A Reform character
The owner of North Devon’s longest standing brewery is about to take on a new challenge, as CATHERINE COURTENAY discovers