Crystal Michelle Joiner is an artist blacksmith with twenty years of metalworking experience. Her background in art, design, and blacksmithing informs a thoughtful and unique approach. She began working at her stepdad's steel company, Howell Steel, at the age of 22 and fell in love with the seemingly weightlessness of a welded body, the transformation when pieces become part of the whole and a new creation is born, a creation of the mind, heart, and hands. After working at Howell Steel for several years, she went to work at Essex Crane Rental Corp. as a welder, inspecting and repairing the crane booms. Crystal missed the creativity that she once had available at work and later began working at Heirloom Ironworks with professional blacksmiths who encouraged her creative growth. In 2016, she graduated magna cum laude from the University of Alabama with a bachelors degree in art with an emphasis in digital media. Driven by her passion for metalwork, transformation, and experimentation, she is always looking to learn new skills that can be incorporated into her life and art. She considers herself a forever student, eager to both build upon her established skillset and to also reach far beyond. Crystal is currently working as a full-time artist blacksmith and welcomes a challenge.