Accidentally Became a metal artist

I accidentally became a metal artist.

Used to hate the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Playing and hanging with Cool Bear, one of our original metal art pieces.

Never felt smart enough, good enough, talented enough to quote unquote "be anything” , especially when the narrative was, go to college, get a degree, so you can get a job.

All of it, quite frankly, made my skin crawl and left myself feeling small.

But that left the big question, "What do I want to be when I grow up?"

So I tried to find something, to fit into a box, to find a path to follow.

Because I knew I wanted to be something, to create some impact, to help people somehow.

But I didn't know what that would be or what I would do to do that. Or what I needed to do to qualify, to do that.

In high school, I ended up taking classes random classes, so I thought, just to be able to graduate high school. Wasn't a studious student, regular classes, let alone any AP classes or anything like that  were a struggle to say the least.

Already knew how to cook a bit, and I already kind of knew how to sew (thank you, Grandma) so I didn't want to take home ec.

So I ended up taking a Metals class because I wanted to make my own jewelry and in this metals class, they made their own rings. When I got to the end of the metal semester and decided I kind of liked it.

So I signed up for Welding 1 the next semester and then Welding 2 after that.

And then heard about a CAD class and Architectural Design class.

So I had decided to take those classes too. They helped keep me out of a “normal” classroom, which I was ecstatic about and it would help me graduate high school. I even made my folks a 60’ metal deck railing in my welding class.

The only reason I really wanted to graduate high school (rather than just saying fuck it, dropping out and getting a GED) is because as a freshman I was chosen to be a class aid on the high ropes course in a class called Adventures In Personal Development, and I fucking loved climbing on the high ropes course, even though it terrified me.

It made me feel empowered being this class aide for Adventures In Personal Development, where we were all pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zone in all sorts of different ways and learning together and growing together and expanding and not in any sort of traditional classroom sense, but in this sense of community and growth together.

So I took Welding to help me graduate high school and continue to participate as a class aide for Adventures in Personal Development and the high robes course.

After a while, my instructor, Mr. Hinch, would start saying, "Girl, you need to be a welder.”

To the point where it was almost daily, where he'd come up, tap me out on the shoulder, say, "Girl, you need to be a welder.”

Never once, did I really take him that seriously.

It never really occurred to me to want to work in any sort of welding industry or metal industry.

Aside from a little bit of the creative art fun that I got to do in that class, but the fun welding art work wasn't a “job”.

Didn't even occur to me to pursue metal art.

I was not an artist.

Shit, I didn't even consider myself creative.

My sister was the artist.

My friends were artists, my cousins were artists.

I wasn't an artist.

And so years go by, I meet this boy, and I fell in love.

Eventually, he decided to go to welding school.

And lo and behold, he scored the BEST job out of welding school, working for a couple of ski bum architects in Bozeman, Montana, where he learned anything but welding industry standard.

Woodworking, design, thrown on random ass metal projects by himself left to FIO (figure it out).

Doing funky and unique things, told to sand more, even though he had already sanded for six hours, that it had to be perfect, had to be this quality, this style, and learned so much there.

It was so fun watching him grow.

And I loved the design.

I loved the architecture, especially with my little bit of high school history in Architectural Design, CAD and Welding classes.

At that point, I had become a massage therapist and was absolutely fully involved in my work that I loved so fucking much.

I felt so purposeful and impactful in my work as a massage therapist.

I felt so in flow and connected to the work that I got to do with my clients.

As much as I loved my work as a massage therapist (including a bunch of deep tissue) my body did not love it as much as I did.

After years of doing massage work that I loved, growing my own private massage practice, I knew my days were numbered as a massage therapist.

I knew I wanted to continue to help people, and in the same way I had been helped.

That's why I joined and started training as Rapid Transformational Therapist, because I knew I wanted to continue to help people.

I had experienced similar work to RTT and it had profoundly helped me transform myself from the inside out. Allowing myself to find and create self compassion, self appreciation, self trust and self love, rather than self loathing, and constant self beraterating and self belittling.

As I was training to become a Rapid Transformational Therapist at the end of 2019 and into 2020, the world abruptely fucking shut down, as did my private massage practice.

Right at the time, Nate and I had desired to take the leap into Creative Combinations Montana, our metal, artwork and furniture fabrication business.

I continued to study and become certified as a Rapid Transformational Therapist and then began to study coaching and life coaching so that I could compliment my rRTT work with coaching and support outside of the hypnosis sessions.

All while Nate and I began a wild adventure together, of a husband and wife team, creatively combining metal and wood, new and used materials, art and function. To bring more function, beauty, and joy into everyday spaces.

Our cozy little backyard shop where Creative Combinations Montana was born.

From our tiny 220 square foot shop in our backyard with no vehicle access.

We began to build and create together.

At first, we did a lot of custom steel work. Custom steel cladding, steel handrails, window trim, along with some other random buildout projects, just to get our feet under us in this new adventure, as I had permanently closed my massage therapy practice, was training/transitioning into coaching and RTT.

Fast forward, nearly two years from COVID and the world turning upside down, we had our first invitation to participate in a local art show in downtown beautiful Whitefish, Montana.

Now, if you know me, like, really know me, you may know that as a kid, I was a figure skater at our beautiful little outdoor ice rink where we had ice for three, maybe three and a half months a year.

And to pay for my ice time as a kid, I used to sell lemonade at all of the local art shows with the figure skating club.

All of us little skaters would get our blue aprons on and we would make fresh squeezed lemonade at the hot summer art shows, selling fresh squeezed lemonades for $1.50 a piece, and that is how I paid for my ice time in the winter.

So when we had this invitation to participate in an art show with Creative Combinations Montana, I immediately said “yes”.

No brainer.

Nate, however, was a little more apprehensive.

Took him a little while to come around, but he did with some convincing and some intention setting.

And just like that, we were committed to our first art show with no idea what the fuck we would bring.

“Probably some furniture”, we said “Maybe figure out how to make some art.”

The next five months leading up to that first art show, we took what felt like a giant leap and made one of the biggest investments we'd ever made, aside from our homes, and invested in a CNC plasma cutter. (A giant tool to help us cut out steel using computer drawings and precision.)

We got this giant new tool and to be honest, I didn't have a hundred percent clear idea of exactly how we were gonna use it.

But Nate had used him in his old welding jobs and swore it was going to be the best thing ever.

Trusting him, I said, okay. Knowing that an art show was on its way.

So... I dove full in.

Nate was working on client projects.

We were both working on our renovation of a 2 car garage into what is now Inspiration Cabin, and I was teaching myself how to design and create steel wall art, digitally design, drawing on the computer, and create three-dimensional steel wall art.

Our first art show booth at Huckleberry Days in downtown Whitefish MT in August of 2022.

Because we had signed up for an art show, because we opened up a business, because we got this machine, because we invested in ourselves, because we learned, because we grew every fucking day… I am now considered a metal artist.

It's wild to think, I am standing here 25 art shows later, blown away by what we've created together.

And continue to create together as we grow our business in the direction of beautiful functional steel art, inspired often by the beauty of Montana's landscape, our life, and our adventure together.

I became a metal artist by accident.

But at the end of the day, there's a through line, of this beautiful grand adventure of life.

Maybe it’s destiny.

Maybe it was what I was comfortable with.

Maybe it was fate.

But there's something beautiful about being open and curious enough to follow life's opportunities, curious enough to say yes, curious enough to take the leap into the unknown. Curious enough to go all in, even if you don't really know what you're going all in on.

Curious enough to say yes.

One of my favorite pieces I have designed and created, Glacier Peaks Growing and Flowing steel wall art installation and plant holders in Inspiration Cabin our part time Creative Combinations Montana metal art and funiture showroom and part time Airbnb.

You never know what it'll lead to.

And I promise you, you will surprise yourself every fucking time when you go all in on yourself.

You say yes, take the leap into the unknown .

The lessons you'll learn, the growth you'll create, the flow, the creativity, the expansion, the adventure that you get to go on.

It's worth it every time.

How can you follow the thread?

How can you stay curious today?

What adventure will you allow yourself to embark on, to embrace, to lean into?

You never know what will grow from it.

Thank you so much for being here for this beautiful wild adventure of entrepreneurship, growing, coaching, flowing and elevating.

I appreciate you so much!

How will you follow your curiosity and opportunities today?

In love, light and so much gratitude,

✌️Kelsey