Seventy-year-old Iraqi Fuat Asinger, who has worked as a blacksmith in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq for over 50 years, handcrafts various ironworks and portraits adorned with verses from the holy book of the Quran.
This industrious blacksmith, better known among his fellow citizens as Fuat the Blacksmith is determined to continue this challenging craft despite his age.
In an interview, he emphasized that there is great interest in his handmade products among citizens, but sales are low due to their high prices.
Started learning the craft at 13
He recounted that at the age of 13, in 1967, he began learning the craft from another experienced blacksmith and has not stopped working in this profession since, which requires a lot of effort as well as precision and creativity.
He opened his own shop already in 1973 after learning and mastering all the necessary techniques and skills in this profession from his master.
The idea of combining iron with art arose when a friend asked him to make four iron portraits.
“After successfully doing that, I realized I had a talent for such things. I decided to pursue it. That’s how I started making iron portraits, or rather portraits from pieces of iron,” explained the master.
Fuat the blacksmith emphasized that for the last 30 years, he has mostly worked on portraits, mainly portraits of people but also verses from the Quran.
As he said, melting, bending, and processing iron is a very challenging, precise, and tiring job.
High costs
This true artist recounted that he had worked on some portrait and verse pieces for months.
“For example, it took me five months for Surah Al-Ikhlas. Because the verses in the Quran are very detailed and demanding,” Fuat said.
He emphasized that the prices of his works are high because he has worked on them for a long time.
Finally, he expressed his great desire to one day exhibit his works at an exhibition but he needs financial support to do so, AA writes.
