Ally ’ s metal meditations

WORDS BY KARA PETERSEN

Ally James’ welded artwork forges grit and grace. Growing up, the Carpinterian earned her grit driving John Deere tractors and getting her hands dirty on her father’s flower farm. Now she spends her days at the welding shop—when she’s not surfing.

“It’s not easy being a woman in the trades, but there’s something about challenging the dominant paradigm that fuels my fire,” she says. With long auburn hair contained in face-framing braids and nails painted a rust red, she gracefully knocks down assumptions aboutwomen’s work.

Ally’s first foray into three-dimensional art was in Lorie Stout’s ceramics class at Carpinteria High School. She first picked up the welding torch at Santa Barbara City College before transferring to U.C. Los Angeles to earn her bachelor of fine arts.

Her art has evolved into a combination of retail projects, architectural commissions, and personal creativity. Multiple homes designed by famed Santa Barbara architect Jeff Shelton include Ally’s work, as well as new Santa Barbara restaurant Augie’s.

A sculptor at heart, Ally stays true to her creativity by incorporating something delicate into the rough work of shaping metal. She wields fire with elegant finesseto create art that is whimsical, beautiful, and functional.“When I put on the welding hood it doesn’t matter if I’m a woman. It becomes meditative,” she says.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, she began welding playful garden art, including vibrant birds and flowers, to sell at makers markets. Her projects, whether large or small, are imbued with unexpected weightlessness and flow. When she makes time for personal projects, they often explore her relationship with her mental health. “To stay safe in this work requires a mindful focus and presence that has helped me with anxiety and depression,” she says.

Reflecting on difficult experiences as a woman in the welding business, from assumptions about her role on construction sites to doubts about her physical abilities, she emphasizes her gratitude for the many mentors who believe in her and have supported her, such as her grandfather, former Carpinteria Unified School Board Trustee Dr. Alex Pulido, retired CHS teacher Lorie Stout, SBCC teacher Armando Ramos, and shop boss Isaac Anguiano to name a few.

Ally finds her latest inspiration in raw materials delivered by this winter’s storm. She collects the washed-up roots of trees to incorporate into welded tables and other structures.

“I can’t put a bow on it right now,” Ally says of her art, “but I’m starting to understand the meaning this work has in my life.”

To learn more, visit www.alexandrajames.art.com