Raised in rural Louisiana, Pat Juneau recalls a childhood where making things was a natural response to being short on money. If you wanted something you couldn’t afford, ingenuity paid off. His mother made quilts and clothes for the family and Pat soon put his own hands to good work.

He has crafted objects of beauty in many media (including custom jewelry, leather and wood), but once he cut and painted metal, he knew he’d found the right thing. “It was like an a-ha experience when I painted bright colors on cut out metal. Art is like writing a story. You write what you know. My metal work just keeps evolving.”