My name is Julia Mathews. I’m a freshman at UNC Chapel Hill likely majoring in Art History and hopefully double-majoring as an interdisciplinary studies major, specifically focusing on historical bladesmithing and armoring. I’m a transgender woman, I use she/her/hers pronouns, and I go by Julia, Jules, or J. I first got into blacksmithing when I was twelve or so at a crafts fair in Kentucky, and my interest in the craft was rekindled (pun intended) by the release of Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens. I discovered the world of prop making through that film and rediscovered blacksmithing and bladesmithing and I haven’t looked back since. Outside of academics, I spend most of my time playing video games. Recently my go-to has been Destiny 2, which despite a bad rep has some seriously fascinating lore. I’m hoping that through this class I can gain access to resources, people, and classes at Chapel Hill that can help me pursue historical bladesmithing and armoring, or point me in the right direction for that goal.
