There is something hot about the idea of owning a plasma torch. So I bought one! I didn't have much experience with steel, I had only tried a plasma torch once before and didn't really know how to weld. That first project wasn't all that special, I really just wanted to 'experience' it. For years I kept looking at torches and watching the prices drop and thinking, "Someday I will own one." That day finally came and then it sat in the used welding shop for 6 months before I had time to do anything with it. I have a friend who's a welder that showed me the basics and I watched a ton of YouTube videos on how to use a plasma torch and mig welder. Youtube is my friend for many things.

I had been seeing some amazing torch work on recycled things like shovels and wheelbarrows. Fancy lace designs and filigree by a couple of very talented artists. So the first thing that I grabbed was a spare shovel that I had in the tool shed. I designed a simple tree design with a swing, something with an organic shape that lends itself to a quick 'redesign'... just in-case! Setting out to teach myself how to use my new toys, I cut shovels until I ran out of them... a plasma torch is a little addictive!

Being out of material to cut up, I needed to find more... it became like a bad habit and I needed a fix. I started hitting yard sales, looking for anything metal that I could take a torch to. I found someone selling old handsaws, 14 for $2 each, it was like making the big score. That was just over a year ago and set me on an unexpected path, I was now a Metal Artist. Starting with 14 designs I quickly built up a catalog of over 70, becoming TheSawLady. Which I have to admit I thought was a really cheesy name for a website at first... after all, I was a serious Gallery Artist, I carve trains on pencils, sometimes elephants, I paint realistic underwater murals in public places and have artwork in museums... I am NOT a Folk Artist. Over the past year I have grown partial to that name though and am now shipping recycled metal artwork to France and the UK from my little town of 236 people in Chester, Nebraska. I am now an Internationally Known FOLK Artist!

The first year that I started cutting saws was a busy year for me as Christmas got closer. I was constantly running out of saws, then saw hunting, running out again, finding more. From November through Christmas, I cut over 150 saws and shovels nonstop. With my last saw being cut on Christmas Eve for a Christmas Morning pick up! It was so crazy that I almost missed Christmas myself... I now have an army of Saw Hunters, people stop by and leave them at my door or collect them and call me when they have 30 or so for me to pick up. I am ready as season 2 of TheSawLady begins! Thanks for your interest in my metal work, maybe someday we will create something cool together!

More info: Etsy | TheSawLady.com