Katie, who hails from southern California, attended architecture school at Cal and Harvard. She then moved to France for a new life raising three boys, with Legos and crafts replacing drawing and sculpture. She studied urban design and worked with a community design team while in France.

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Back in California, her new job led her to a new material — steel. She designed bridges, and began welding pieces from scrap metal, eventually investing in a plasma torch to cut shapes in steel plate. She designs elements of décor such as gates, sculptures, and wall ornaments in steel.