A bonding experience: Lucky Star Art Camp offers course in welding for women

“I knew that I wanted to gather women together and do something,” said Lisa Fields, director of the Lucky Star Art Camp. “While families and jobs are fulfilling, there was something missing.”

Fields was looking for something to feed her soul, a place where she could escape the societal demands of womanhood and be herself.

“I thought of all the things that made me feel alive that weren’t attached to my work or family, and many of them involved creativity and group settings,” she said.

Fields got inspired and founded Lucky Star Art Camp in 2013, a four-night, five-day women’s art and whole-living sleepaway camp that takes place on the grounds of Camp Waldemar in Hunt each fall.

This year, the camp hosted a total of 150 women from all over the United States.

Lucky Star offers women the chance to take workshops such as acrylic painting, creative writing, sewing, guitar, jewelry making, yoga, apothecary and more.

Intro to Welding is one of the workshops that usually has a waitlist of students.

“I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to learn how to weld in this environment,” Alli Koch said of her decision to take the class.

“We have a welder in the garage, and I figured if I have one, then it’s time to learn how to weld,” Deon Hutchinson said of the reason she enrolled.

Emily Stewart, who has been instructing welding classes at Lucky Star for the past three years, originally went to school for diesel mechanics.

“I worked as a diesel mechanic for a while, but it was so blatantly obvious that I was not welcome there,” Stewart said of being a female in a male-dominated industry.

She eventually chose to leave the field, but while in school she had taken her first welding class.

“Admittedly, I was terrified and absolutely hated it at first,” Stewart said, “Welding can be high anxiety.”

A metal rose on social media eventually caught her eye and encouraged some creativity.

Stewart asked a friend for help in making her first rose to gift to her sister.

“He said no, that I had to do it myself,” she said.

So she did.

“I got over my fear of sparks, and it became an addiction,” Stewart said. “I was hooked.”

Stewart is now based out of South Dakota and works in the motorcycle industry, where she teaches various welding workshops across the United States to encourage women to go into the profession.

“I love to show women that they are capable, tough and cool enough to do things like this,” Stewart said.

Students in the workshop were given an opportunity to learn MIG welding, a welding process that joins two pieces of metal together using a wire electrode and an electric arc that is flexible enough for a variety of materials and projects.

They also experienced using an oxyacetylene torch to heat and manipulate the steel petals of rose sculptures of their own.

Welding can be an overwhelming trade, as it involves high heat, burning metal and flying sparks.

Northern Tool + Equipment, an equipment manufacturing company, donated two portable Klutch welders, welding helmets, gloves, jackets and safety glasses to Lucky Star Art Camp so students in the class could learn to weld safely.

“At Northern Tool + Equipment, we’re committed to supporting the trades. There’s a shortage of skilled workers in trades like welding, so we prioritize creating opportunities for people to explore these fields. By donating safety and welding equipment, we ensure the women at the camp have the right tools for a safe learning experience,” said Frank Crowson, Northern Tool + Equipment’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer.

“It’s cool to see a big company support and see value in what we’re doing out here,” Stewart said.

To learn more about Lucky Star Art Camp, visit www.luckystarartcamp.com or follow them on instagram @luckystartartcamp.

This article was originally published in the Nov. 16, 2024 edition of The Kerrville Daily Times.