{"id":2903,"date":"2012-12-04T06:45:10","date_gmt":"2012-12-04T14:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.arc-zone.com\/blog\/carmenelectrode\/?p=2903"},"modified":"2012-12-05T07:40:49","modified_gmt":"2012-12-05T15:40:49","slug":"welding-her-way-to-redemption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/2012\/12\/04\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\/","title":{"rendered":"Welding her way to redemption"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Birmingham Alabama\u2019s Catherine Partain<\/a> never imagined she\u2019d be welding.\u00a0 If you\u2019d asked five years ago, she\u2019d have said, \u201cYou have the wrong lady!\u201d\u00a0 But as we all know, sometimes your life puts you places you don\u2019t expect you\u2019ll go, and Catherine, even though she’s a “girly-girl,” had a curiosity for so much more\u2014not to mention a need\u2014she\u2019d reached rock bottom in every area of her life. \u201cI was a disappointing mess,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Now I don\u2019t usually talk about God on this corporate blog, but corporations are made up of real people and our customers and fans are real people with real experiences and whether you believe Catherine\u2019s story or not, I hope you\u2019ll find her story as compelling, and her work as beautiful I as do:\u00a0 God spoke to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told me to make a cross out of pieces of broken furniture. I did as He told me, and so began my healing,\u201d Catherine says.<\/p>\n

She started with wood, then railroad spikes, then scraps of discarded iron.\u00a0 She\u2019s been making crosses ever since.\u00a0 \u201cBirmingham is great for the metal arts and is rich in industrial iron and steel scrap yards\u2014I have no shortage of rusty discarded metal,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Catherine learned to weld from male friends who saw how overwhelming her vision was. \u201cThey knew they better either get out of the way or jump in and help!\u201d\u00a0 They taught her to weld, grind, maintain her machinery, and stay safe.\u00a0 And when she had questions about changing wire or argon, and if no one was around to ask, Catherine got on YouTube and found precise answers.\u00a0 \u201cGotta love me some YouTube!\u201d she jokes.<\/p>\n

Even though our interview was via email, I could almost see Catherine wince as she read the question about what technique or process she uses most.\u00a0 She may think her answer reveals her lack of \u201cformal technical training,\u201d but she answered in her own terms quite eloquently:<\/p>\n

All of my welds vary in depth and strength because I am using such a variety of found scrap metal, and I am building some pieces that are relatively small and some much larger. I work with wire to make vines, shavings to make ribbon curls, decorative cast iron from tornado debris to symbolize broken dreams. Industrial drops clustered to make ornate sections, spikes and nails to evoke sacrifice, things like rings and I-beam slices for symbolism and thick bar for the underlying bodies of the crosses. So I am constantly changing the temperature on my welder for the deep and shallow welds.<\/p>\n

I also like the rustic look of ugly welds and how it adds to rusty bent nails and corroded bar. I grind lightly over all the surfaces of the finished cross to bring about contrast and definition in the relief.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Before following this path, Catherine worked a lot of jobs from auto parts stocker and waitress, to jewelry designer, framer, faux-finish \/ mural painter, art supply store manager, illustrator, and commercial artist. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of an embarrassing succession of attempts to find my voice as an artist or as a person,\u201d she says. \u00a0\u201cI’ve had a long, hard road trying to define who I am before this redemptive process found me.\u201d<\/p>\n

When she\u2019s scrapping at industrial sites Catherine says she doesn’t experience discrimination, but sometimes men try to be overly helpful\u2014she is \u201cfiercely independent\u201d and prefers to \u201chopper dive\u201d alone.\u00a0 \u201cI prefer alone because I pick up the most worthless rusty looking bits while they hand me large shiny things I would never use.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Catherine says she feels this raw material speaking to her, telling its story, and most often a sad one.\u00a0 This is what informs her work.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve found that God is the author of forgiveness and grace and I try to pull that message through my work.\u00a0 The scrap is redeemed into a cross with a much larger story than its humble beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

She calls herself a \u201cdevoted up-cycler\u201d who \u201csees the beauty in the rusted out useless junk from dumpsters and ravines in much the same way God sees purpose in us after we have self-destructed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>But it\u2019s not just the creation of the crosses it\u2019s the connection it affords with others on a healing path.\u00a0 \u201cOur redemption is a powerful testimony to others. I enjoy the unfolding of the stories of fellow travelers around me. It\u2019s exciting to see the message in my crosses being deeply understood by an injured soul on their journey to healing. Something clicks and I get to see it– \u2018THAT is my cross!\u2019 is a common reaction.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than as a technical trade, Catherine thinks that a career in the metal arts is exciting for women.\u00a0 \u201cIf you like fire and smoke\u2014this is for you. If you like grit and being slightly uncomfortable and love to overcome\u2014this if for you.\u00a0 And, if you are afraid of injury, remember you will burn yourself more with a curling iron that you ever will with a welding torch!\u201d<\/p>\n

To her 15-year old self, Catherine would say:<\/p>\n

First of all, delay dating and hang around your friends more. No matter what anyone says, college is for you and you don’t want to miss out on it. Your children are going to be the most exciting events that happen to you, so make sure you partner up with someone that is also your best friend and enjoy every little thing so very very slowly. You will make some horrible mistakes in this life, and when God speaks to your heart, follow without question. It will be the greatest adventure you will ever set out on.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>To Catherine, I would say, thank you for sharing your story, thank you for the inspiration, and the great conversation. \u00a0And thank you for the reminder to see the beauty in all that is around us.<\/p>\n

To the readers here, I’d say if you\u2019d like to know more about Catherine and her art, visit her website Crosses by Catherine. http:\/\/crossesbycatherine.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Birmingham Alabama\u2019s Catherine Partain never imagined she\u2019d be welding.\u00a0 If you\u2019d asked five years ago, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-rosies","entry","fw-tab-6 fw-tabr-4"],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nWelding her way to redemption - Carmen Electrode\u2122 Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Welding her way to redemption - Carmen Electrode\u2122 Blog -\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/2012\/12\/04\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Carmen Electrode\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/04\\\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/04\\\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Carmen Electrode\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e46282544508b6da8e7a7947fcbb3dc3\"},\"headline\":\"Welding her way to redemption\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-12-04T14:45:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-12-05T15:40:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/04\\\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1030,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/04\\\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/DSC_0227_2-214x300.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"New Rosies\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/04\\\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/04\\\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/04\\\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\\\/\",\"name\":\"Welding her way to redemption - Carmen Electrode\u2122 Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/04\\\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/04\\\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/DSC_0227_2-214x300.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-12-04T14:45:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-12-05T15:40:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e46282544508b6da8e7a7947fcbb3dc3\"},\"description\":\"Welding her way to redemption - Carmen Electrode\u2122 Blog -\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/04\\\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/04\\\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/DSC_0227_2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/DSC_0227_2.jpg\",\"width\":\"2463\",\"height\":\"3448\",\"caption\":\"Catherine Partain\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/\",\"name\":\"Carmen Electrode\u2122 Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e46282544508b6da8e7a7947fcbb3dc3\",\"name\":\"Carmen Electrode\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6ec92cc686e696b1dce728d4d63cb5b3a413f14d83eefdcafee9718f2374faad?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6ec92cc686e696b1dce728d4d63cb5b3a413f14d83eefdcafee9718f2374faad?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6ec92cc686e696b1dce728d4d63cb5b3a413f14d83eefdcafee9718f2374faad?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Carmen Electrode\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/CarmenElectrodeBlog\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/thecarmenelectrode\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/arczone\\\/carmen-electrodetm\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/carmenwelds\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/carmenelectrode\\\/author\\\/editor\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Welding her way to redemption - Carmen Electrode\u2122 Blog","description":"Welding her way to redemption - Carmen Electrode\u2122 Blog -","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/2012\/12\/04\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Carmen Electrode","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/2012\/12\/04\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/2012\/12\/04\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\/"},"author":{"name":"Carmen Electrode","@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/#\/schema\/person\/e46282544508b6da8e7a7947fcbb3dc3"},"headline":"Welding her way to redemption","datePublished":"2012-12-04T14:45:10+00:00","dateModified":"2012-12-05T15:40:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/2012\/12\/04\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\/"},"wordCount":1030,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/2012\/12\/04\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_0227_2-214x300.jpg","articleSection":["New Rosies"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/2012\/12\/04\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/2012\/12\/04\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/2012\/12\/04\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\/","name":"Welding her way to redemption - Carmen Electrode\u2122 Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/2012\/12\/04\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/2012\/12\/04\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_0227_2-214x300.jpg","datePublished":"2012-12-04T14:45:10+00:00","dateModified":"2012-12-05T15:40:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/#\/schema\/person\/e46282544508b6da8e7a7947fcbb3dc3"},"description":"Welding her way to redemption - Carmen Electrode\u2122 Blog -","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/2012\/12\/04\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/2012\/12\/04\/welding-her-way-to-redemption\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_0227_2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_0227_2.jpg","width":"2463","height":"3448","caption":"Catherine Partain"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/","name":"Carmen Electrode\u2122 Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/#\/schema\/person\/e46282544508b6da8e7a7947fcbb3dc3","name":"Carmen Electrode","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6ec92cc686e696b1dce728d4d63cb5b3a413f14d83eefdcafee9718f2374faad?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6ec92cc686e696b1dce728d4d63cb5b3a413f14d83eefdcafee9718f2374faad?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6ec92cc686e696b1dce728d4d63cb5b3a413f14d83eefdcafee9718f2374faad?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Carmen Electrode"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CarmenElectrodeBlog\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/thecarmenelectrode\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/arczone\/carmen-electrodetm\/","https:\/\/x.com\/carmenwelds"],"url":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/author\/editor\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2903"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2917,"href":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2903\/revisions\/2917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}