Galvanized passion: Millersville metalworker finds peace in creating for others

Sparks fly and the sound of metal being cut is heard through the thick whoosh of a fan as Josh Boyd watches a project come to life before his eyes in his Millersville home workshop.

Five years ago Boyd began creating pieces out of metal by hand, and three years ago invested in a machine that would allow him to continue creating pieces to a different level -- and volume.

"I've always just been a hands-on person. Always done metal stuff, just messing around the farm," Boyd said. "I actually really got into it because my mom wanted me to make her a horseshoe pumpkin..."

Boyd said for the first year he made everything out of horseshoes, getting so tired of them he had to find another way to create, so he began branching out into metal work as a whole. His pieces range from simple upper-- and lower-case letters of the alphabet to business signs. He's crafted wind-spinners and split-monogram letter creations.

"Every single piece is different," Boyd said. "Even if I make these flags over and over and over ... there's never going to be one that's exactly the same. They may look like it, but I know they're not because I'm human, I'm going to mess something up."

Josh Boyd gets help from his family as he puts new pieces up at his booth at Heartland Harvest Market and Antiques Feb. 27 in Jackson.

He said he remembers each project he creates, but there has only been one that has stuck with him on a deeper emotional level. He created a one-of-a-kind design for a woman he knew from his bank to give to her husband for Christmas.

"She said she just wanted it to be fishing and she wanted three people in it," Boyd said. "Everything else was my own creative choice."

He learned that the piece was to commemorate the couple's son who they had lost, but who had enjoyed fishing with his father and grandfather.

"Once I heard that my heart dropped out and this project was the elite of the elite," Boyd said.

Boyd said he was "so nervous" about the project, wanting to make sure he did the best job, and his client -- who has now become a close friend of his -- was overcome with emotion when she received it.

Josh Boyd hangs new pieces in his booth space at Heartland Harvest Market and Antiques Feb. 27 in Jackson.

"I've made more friends out of my customers than I've made just regular customers, and that's the way I think it should be," he said.

Moments like that keep the passion of this full-time side-job of Boyd's going. He also spoke of the great support system he has through his wife, parents and friends.

In October, Boyd expanded his visibility beyond word-of-mouth by setting up a space in Heartland Harvest Market and Antiques in Jackson.

"It started out as an outlet, for me -- like I said, a stress reliever -- and then the more I do it the more I just can't stop," Boyd said. "Every time I fire this machine up I'm like a kid in a candy store. I can't stop watching it."

kjackson@semissourian.com

Josh Boyd pulls up a freshly cut project in his home shop Feb. 21 in Millersville.

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