Joyce McDaniel, role model for women sculptors in welding, dies at 84
By Bryan Marquard Globe Staff,Updated March 7, 2021, 4:53 p.m.
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Sculptor Joyce McDaniel, in 2013, in her South Boston studio.Jerry Russo
Short and slight, Joyce McDaniel welded powerful steel sculptures, and also created works that were as brittle as they were memorable.
Welding was among the classes she taught at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, where she gathered students in a basement studio that was equipped with a safety shower and an emergency eye wash station.
âItâs hot, heavy, noisy, and intimidating,â she told a class in 1996 as she demonstrated the tools of the trade: a helmet, goggles, thick leather gloves, and the all-important welding torch.