Grounded in water, built in steel

Cyaltsa Finkbonner, a Lummi Nation ironworker and welder, uses steel as a form of storytelling, from shipyard work to her large-scale metal sculptures. Photos provided by Cyaltsa Finkbonner.

From Lummi waters to ironwork and large-scale steel art, Cyaltsa Finkbonner’s work connects craft, culture, and salmon.

On most days, Cyaltsa Finkbonner is under the hood in a Bremerton, Washington, shipyard. She’s a journeyman ironworker by trade with decades of experience behind her.

But there’s another place you’ll find her, too—mentally, creatively, and sometimes literally—posted up by the water.

For Cyaltsa, welding isn’t just a skill. It’s a language. And the water is where that language starts to flow.

That instinct—going back to what grounds you—has guided nearly every turn of her path: from fishing with her dad in the San Juan Islands, to building skyscrapers as a journeyman ironworker, to fabricating an 8-foot-diameter steel sculpture that traveled the Pacific Northwest carrying a message about salmon, treaties, and survival.

Go to this link to read the full article published by THE WELDER.