Biography

Colorado-born and Alaska-bred.  Artistic welder Tanya Kocinski has lived in Alaska since 1972, when her family moved from Colorado to Hyder, Alaska.  She has lived in Southeast and South Central and has worked across the state, from the North Slope to Dutch Harbor.  She currently makes her home in Wasilla, 40 miles north of Anchorage.

As a child, Tanya spent hours dabbling in the art supplies her dad kept for his commercial sign business.  Like her dad, she worked as a sign painter for a number of years. At age 14, Tanya took up welding as a natural outgrowth of her practical and artistic sensibilities.  Later, she decided to complete her college education at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington.

College majors ranged from electronics to math but Tanya eventually ended up pursuing a degree in Art Education.  She enrolled in Drawing 101 as an escape class – one to enjoy. During this course, Tanya realized her passion was with visual arts; this led her to the Art Education program.  She dove into the curriculum. She loved all of the opportunities to experiment with various media.  Though all media proved exciting and challenging, it was sculpture - metal sculpture - that grabbed Tanya’s interest.  Metal seemed so forgiving and versatile.

A sculpture class outing to a scrap metal yard brought back fond memories of living in remote Alaska and trying to make something out of nothing.  Tanya enjoyed the potential each piece - from unique pieces of scrap to old industrial gears - had to come to life in sculpture or as a piece of functional furniture.

After completing her B.A. in Art Education with a minor in math, Tanya packed up her daughter Amie, cat Bob, and dog Hank and returned to Alaska.  She served as a substitute teacher for a few years and worked in the construction and environmental industries over the years.

The doors to her workshop are always open to anyone who is curious about what it feels like to wield a plasma cutter, bead a weld, or send sparks flying, creating metal designs only limited by the imagination.  Tanya encourages everyone to cut loose and tap into their innate ability to create.