Love at first arc for South Carolina welder

Kristen Albro enrolled in Arclabs Welding School after graduating from The Citadel. Today she is a proud welder and blacksmith by day and the artist behind Meltdown Metal Art in her spare time. Images provided by Kristen Albro

After earning a degree at a prestigious military institution, the last thing anyone thought Kristen Albro would do is go back to school to learn how to weld. But that’s exactly what the 31-year-old from Charleston, S.C., did.

This wasn’t a panic move. She wasn’t lost, confused, or grasping at straws. Albro had decided that she preferred to spend her time on her feet and working with her hands, not sitting at a desk.

As a veteran of the Air Force, Albro spent her time in service as an aircraft mechanic. Later she earned a degree in criminal justice with a minor in intelligence and homeland security from The Citadel. Seeing the writing on the wall about a white-collar desk job, the lifelong artist did a little soul-searching about what exactly would make her happy. Working with your hands can lead to many pathways, but she landed on welding because she wondered if she could somehow incorporate that into her art.

So Albro took a chance and enrolled in welding school, a decision that has taken her down a path in her career and in art that at times still surprises her.

Filling The Creative Void

Before metal sculpture, Albro was an avid painter. But after a while, painting lost its luster and she gave it up.

“I used to be big into acrylic painting, but somewhere along the line I began to lose my motivation for it. But I still had this creative void that I needed to fill. I had always been interested in sculpture, but I didn’t know which direction I wanted to go,” Albro explained.

Until, that is, she struck her first arc.

Albro enrolled at Arclabs Welding School in nearby Hanahan, S.C., and knew immediately she had made the right decision.

“I fell in love with it the moment I struck that first arc,” Albro recalls.

From that point on she knew exactly what kind of sculptor she’d like to be, and even more than that, she had found a career path she was certain she would love.

An instructor, who could see Albro’s desire to learn more than just how to weld, took her aside and showed her the basics of metal fabrication and how to work with metal of varying thicknesses. He also taught her how to make a metal rose.

After graduating from Arclabs, she was hired as a blacksmith/artisan at a small high-end furniture and light fixture shop, even though at the time she had limited fabricating experience.

Kris Albro, a lifelong painter, finds new creative pathway and career with welding.

“I think during my interview I was very professional and held myself in a manner that they saw would be a good fit for their shop. It’s a very small shop and the personalities have to mesh, otherwise it can get really toxic really fast. We all get along so well, which makes going to work really fun.”

In addition to enjoying the job, it also allows her to use her creativity while getting hands-on experience in fabrication and forging. Albro credits her co-workers for being excellent teachers and helping her get up to speed.

“They’ve taught me how to use the forge and the power hammer, how to apply heat to the metal and get it to work in your favor because metal sometimes has a mind of its own when you add heat. They’ve also taught me how to grind down welds to where they’re invisible. These are all things I’ve been able to apply in my own artwork,” Albro explained.

Today she is a proud welder and blacksmith by day and the artist behind Meltdown Metal Art LLC.

All About the Art

Albro draws inspiration from nature. As a Charleston resident, she enjoys paying homage to her surroundings, particularly aquatic wildlife and flowers. She lets her collection of fabrication skills tell the story on the metal in a muted, simple, yet effective way.

Take her fish, for example. The detail work is subtle—the shaping of the bodies, the textures, and the fine details are all done by hand. While the overall aesthetic is simple, a lot of work is required to achieve it.

“I’m not as dramatic with the linework as some artists are. A lot of people, when they make fish, do a lot of detailed work on the scales. Rather than doing that, I like to focus on using hammer marks as scales. That way it looks more smooth and finished and the eye is drawn to the more simplistic ideology behind each fish,” Albro said.

She has continued to refine and build upon that first metal rose her instructor at Arclabs taught her. Now she is intentional about hiding the welds and has branched out to other flowers, including lilies. She also does commission work and recently started selling her art on the Etsy website, an online space for makers and artists of all genres.

In addition to Etsy, Albro relies on Instagram to showcase her art, her job, and parts of her life. What she discovered was that she’s not only reaching people who might be interested in her art or her day-to-day life, she’s also reaching an audience who might be curious about what it’s like to be a woman in a blue-collar world.

“I want to put something out there that I’m proud of. I don’t want to portray the blue-collar industry of welders and blacksmiths as some false narrative by wearing makeup and a low-cut shirt while I work.

“If there’s a 14-year-old girl who is considering a blue-collar career like welding and fabricating, I want that girl to be able to go to my Instagram page and be inspired by it. I would want her to know that it’s OK to work in this industry and still be a girl.”

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