Today we’d like to introduce you to McKayla Boldrey.
Hi McKayla, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My story… I was born and raised in southern California; a far cry from where I am now! I’ve always been artistic, I remember when I was little, I would lay on the floor in the office while my mom worked at the computer. I remember coloring in a Barbie coloring book and using several different colored pencils to give Barbie highlights! That is a fond memory because now I can look back and see the path that God has led me down and I can trace it back to that memory, which is the earliest memory I have of doing art. From there, I was drawing everything I could and throughout school I took every art class I could weasel into.
High school found me in a three dimensional design class, which set me on a slightly new course. I was still drawing and painting, but now I had gone from 2D to 3D! I was introduced to metal casting, soldering, cutting, bead making, forging, sculpting and more. I loved it! Now I was hooked on metal art.
Looking for a college, I could only find two that had a metals degree, and they were both super far away… so I went for it! I left home for the first time ever and landed in Fort Collins, Colorado. I learned so much in the Metalsmithing and Jewelry art concentration, and graduated with my Bachelors in Fine Art. Going into my final semester however, I started thinking about the future for the first time. Not my finest hour, but it is what it is. I decided I didn’t want to teach or make jewelry for a living, so I thought long and hard about what I could do to support myself in the “real world”. I thought of my dad who was in construction and how he supported our family for years as a pipe welder. I thought if he could do it, why couldn’t I? So, in addition to my final semester at the University, I enrolled in the local community college in their TIG welding program. I successfully graduated with a welding certificate and my BFA at the same time. After a slight breather was off in search of a job. No fancy grad vacation for me!
My welding career brought me first to Kansas and later, Missouri. I have now been in the welding industry for 10 years and have learned so much more than welding in the process. I now have knowledge in precision welding and fabrication, pneumatics, wiring, piping, truck repairs, blueprint reading & drawing, troubleshooting and so much more. I learned that to do what you love, you have to do things you don’t. But when you get to where you were aiming, you realize that it was worth it.
Now, I am happily married to my husband and we are co-owners of JB Mobile LLC. We line bore and do weld repairs heavy equipment, implements and whatever else walks in our door! This would never have been possible if God didn’t put me through all those jobs where I learned welding, fabricating, wiring, piping, hydraulics and all the other random extraneous things. I thank him every day for my crazy history so I could meet my husband and end up here working on our business together.
On the side I am still doing my artwork in the form of blacksmithing and metal sculpture out of recycled and upcycled goods, and have just recently branched out into hand made market vendor events! Having my own brand and selling my handmade goods is my ultimate goal, but I can’t wait to see what else God has in store for me!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
A smooth road? No. God has a way of shoving me off my path and onto a new one. I guess I don’t take His hints very well. Finances has been a struggle; I have always been taken care of, but I’ve been given just enough. For example, I know when a large chunk of money comes in that there will be a need for that exact amount right around the corner. And there always is.
Another struggle is in relation to moving so much. I have bopped around quite a bit, which is hard on friendships and relationships. I have found that you need good people in your life to stay sane.
One last struggle has been being a female in a male dominated world. I have always found myself thus, so I didn’t have to learn it per se, but it’s still not easy to be the only girl around. I have been fortunate though to always be surrounded by men that respect me and would stand up for me if things turned for the worse. I cannot say that for all of us.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
What do I do? A bit of everything, is my common response. It is hard to explain all of my interests and capabilities to someone who is looking for a concise answer. My main material is metals. I say metals as a plural because I use silver, copper, brass, aluminum, steel, stainless steel and alloys. I sculpt, bend, raise, forge, weld, solder, braze, cast and cut metals. I am most proud of my success in metal arts and industry.
Other things I do includes drawing and painting with media like charcoal, pen & ink, watercolors, acrylic, oil and mixed media.
I dabble with fiber and paper arts too. Sewing is not a favorite, but I have created some pretty cool things in the past using embroidery, quilting, screen printing and applique techniques. Felting is a newly acquired skill that is surprisingly difficult to do well in 3D but I am giving it a go.
I create paper projects on my computer and print them out using a Cricut and assemble the pieces. I am particularly fond of layered art projects that are 3D in a shadow box using pop dots to create the dimension.
I think the thing that sets me apart from most is the fact that I stuck with my artistic side and turned it into something real. Most adults left their dreaming and creativity at the door when they grew up to do accounting or become a nurse. Outside of that, what sets me apart is that I’m a female in a man’s world.
Something that I have heard a lot over the past several years is “You’re the only person I know that does art.” or “You’re the only person I know that knows about welding!” Mostly from people I grew up with that I’m still in contact with. You wouldn’t believe how many people message me out of the blue with “Hey, look at my first welds!” or random welding videos just because I’m the only person they know who does it.
When you’re in the field of your choosing, you know tons of people who do what you do, which makes it mundane and seemingly unimportant. Its when you get outside of your field that you can look up and realize how scarce your occupation and hobbies are to the rest of the world.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Give credit where credit is due. Not always an easy motto to follow!
My high school 3D design teacher, Mr. Carthew was instrumental in laying the best possible groundwork to my path. Without his knowledge, classroom atmosphere and support, I don’t think I would be on the same path. He let his students dig into a technique as far as they wanted and do as much for a project as they wanted. Because of this, I was able to hone skills and start to learn how to think as a designer, fabricator and artist.
My professor in college, Professor Bates was another who significantly impacted me. Her knowledge of the professional side of the art world and how she ran her classroom made me learn to think about a gallery setting and how to present and stage your work professionally. She also pushed her students to think deeply about a project rather than going with your first idea, which stretched you to invest more of yourself in your work.
In my welding career, I think Brad was the most impactful. He was harsh and direct, but also incredibly knowledgeable and capable. He taught me to toughen up and keep going. It was also him that taught me not to trust anything but the blueprint. If someone tells you to do something on a project, check the blueprint.
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