On May 31, Gracie Gerring was able to showcase her creative and technical skills at the Northwest Pennsylvania American Welding Society’s Third Annual Weld Art Competition held at the 1020 Collective on Holland Street in Erie, PA. Gerring’s creation landed her a third place finish and a $1,000 scholarship. The competition challenged participants to create original metal artworks incorporating an eagle, a flag, or the phrase “Made in the USA.” All entries had to be predominantly metal and fit within a compact 5x2x3-foot space.

Gerring first heard and began preparing for the competition last fall, unexpectedly, when her dad was picking up a welding helmet for her brother from Angie Stiles, Operations Manager at Welding Supply Company in Erie. Gerring said Stiles mentioned the competition and wondered if she would be interested.

“She gave us the information, and I decided to give it a try,” Gerring said.

Inspired by Jen Philips, a metal sculptor and welder she follows on social media, Gerring approached her teachers, Daniel McCray and Gary Whipple, to see if she could work on the project as part of her art class. Beginning back in November, she started by sketching her design by hand and later moved to using Inventor software, suggested by McCray, to create a digital model of an eagle. The next step was then to program the design for the CNC plasma cutter. “The whole process was a lot of problem solving,” Gerring said. “I changed my mind a lot during the process. It was challenging, but I loved welding and drawing, so being able to combine art and welding was really fun. It was more creative than I expected.”

Other submissions in the competition are pictured. Submitted photo

Gerring also said that one of the most surprising aspects of the project for her was the difficulty of sculpting the three-dimensional shapes, saying that the sculpting is “harder than it looks” and that figuring out how to make the legs 3-D was “really tricky”.

At the competition, Gerring said she was fascinated by the diversity and creativity of the other entries.

“No two were the same,” Gerring said. “It was inspiring to see so many different approaches.”

The event also featured awards chosen by sponsors and a People’s Choice prize, celebrating the community’s appreciation for metal art. Gerring’s third-place finish and scholarship highlight both her talent and dedication to this challenging art form, and this success has made her excited to continue exploring welding as an artistic medium and she looks forward to future competitions, she said.

Chautauqua Lake Superintendent Josh Liddell said that the school is very proud of Gerring’s success.

Gracie Gerring works on welding her submission to the competition. Submitted photo

“We are incredibly proud of Gracie Gerring for her outstanding achievement at the Art Welding Competition,” Liddell said. “Her ability to blend artistic creativity with technical skill is a testament to the kind of innovative, hands-on learning we value at CLCS. Gracie’s hard work and willingness to explore new challenges reflect the best of what our students can accomplish with the support of great teachers and the proper resources. This accomplishment not only celebrates her impressive individual talent but also highlights the importance of fostering both arts and manufacturing education in our schools.”

Gracie Gerring is pictured with her submission to the Northwest Pennsylvania American Welding Society’s Third Annual Weld Art Competition. Submitted photo