VICTORIA PATTI

Victoria's passion for making steel sculptures started after college in her mid-20's when she was hired as an industrial mechanic for the City of Boulder. Soon after being hired she attended welding classes at the local technical college. Learning how to weld opened up a door that would allow Victoria to express herself through steel. She would stay after work to make steel sculptures from the "boneyard" of leftover pump parts. "The pump parts were unique and fun to work with," Victoria remembers, "but I wanted a more delicate finish on my metal pieces. I needed something more feminine to add to them." In 1995, she signed up for a 3-week blacksmithing course taught by Frank Turley in Santa Fe, NM. She said "It brought me to another level with metal. I was drawn to the fluidity and softness of steel after it's heated in a 2000-degree gas forge." There she learned how to make her own tools through blacksmithing practices such as forge welding and tempering as well as the delicate scrolls..