MEET OUR APPRENTICES
SPRING 2021
Meet the new Public Projects Apprentices!!
Ashley and Layla both completed the one-week Workforce Training program earlier this Spring, where they had a crash course in metalwork alongside 7 other wonderful individuals. Now, they work in the Public Projects Department as part-time staff members! For three months, they get extra mentorship and training from John, our Workforce Projects Manager, as well as all the other knowledgeable and skilled professional artists that come through the shop!
So, let’s get to meet them!
ASHLEY LITTLEJOHN (she/her)
Where are you from?
I am from Providence RI!
What are you working on now?
We were working on the Gaspee boat, and now we’re working on the trailer for the boat, for it to sit on, to put it in the water.
Who are your greatest inspirations?
My grandfathers and your brothers. I have 2 brothers, but they’re both deceased. That’s why I got into welding. Just to keep my mind focused, and not to go down the wrong path.
How did you find The Steel Yard? What were you doing before you joined the Public Projects Apprenticeship?
Well, my probation officer told me about it. He asked if I was interested, and I said of course! I love construction, and this is almost the same thing. Before I was doing inventory and it was hard to get a job because of covid. I wish this welding would last a little longer!
When you’re not in the studio working- what do you do in your free time?
Either with my family or in my bed!
We talk a lot about ‘Yardies’ here- curious, what does YARDIE mean you to?
What does yardie mean?
I don’t know!
What are you MOST excited for this upcoming year?
Finding a good job, a welding job, like what I’m doing now.
What do you think will be your greatest CHALLENGE?
Messing with that plasma machine! That’s the challenge! I’m scared of that machine!
Favorite Food:
African/Jamaican food.
Favorite movie/ TV Show:
My favorite TV show is – I have multiple – but Modern Family.
Favorite Book:
My favorite book, I’m really not a book person, more of a movie person. The Notebook is my favorite movie. I love old flick movies like that.
Favorite artist:
Don’t have one. There was a band we were just listening to, but I can’t remember what it is.. it’s on the tip of my tongue!
What skill would you like to master?
Hm… I would love to be able to pour metal-iron casting.
Favorite tool in the shop:
The grinder!
LAYLA FARAHBAKHSH (they/them)
Where are you from?
Hah! I grew up north of Boston, and then I bopped around Texas and the West Coast for a while, and now I’m back in New England.
What’s something about you that you’d like us to know?
Oh man! Um… I like looking for seabirds and picking through trash.
What are you working on now?
Right now, we are working on a trailer for the Gaspee boat, and that’s mostly what we’re doing right now.
Who are your greatest inspirations?
Ooh! My greatest inspirations are marginalized people who have struggled for collective liberation. That includes things like groups like the Black Panther party and my ancestral ties to Iran and modern-day Iranian women. Oh, and the ocean breaking storm walls.
How did you find The Steel Yard? What were you doing before you joined the Public Projects Apprenticeship?
I was working for the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council for a little while and we were doing some planting at Farm Fresh, and then I was furloughed from my job for a while and I was looking for things to do and found another welding program, and then through looking at that, I ended up seeing the one that I did through the Steel Yard.
Before I got involved with the Steel Yard, I had just moved to Providence from the Boston area and I was furloughed from my job. And yeah, in the larger sense of what I was doing, my background is in wildlife conservation and trail maintenance. In the recent past, I coordinated travel for a sports event company. I like that I can help out our employees and make things happen for people but it is a lot of excel sheets.
When you’re not in the studio working- what do you do in your free time?
In my free time, I am a drag performer, and I camp and hike a lot. I love cooking outside, and I got a cat! I am actually producing and hosting my first digital drag show for my birthday. The show is Bugaboo Creek-themed, and it’s basically Outback Steakhouse, but it’s Canada-themed and there are animatronic Mooseheads that talk. That restaurant was already a fever dream, and we’re making it more of a fever dream. May 22, at 9pm on twitch!
We talk a lot about ‘Yardies’ here- curious, what does YARDIE mean you to?
Oh, what is a yardie? Let’s see…. Yardies are people in the Steel Yard community who keep it alive and active and always changing and growing. It’s like a membrane of a cell.
What are you MOST excited about this upcoming year?
Oh um, I’m excited to be able to integrate the skills that I’m learning in the shop into my personal art practice and start making some cool weird art.
What do you think will be your greatest CHALLENGE?
Juggling my full-time job, this apprenticeship, and re-integrating into vaccinated covid life. I’m easily overwhelmed, so, it’s just like, overstimulation is something that I have to be aware of is happening to me because I value my creativity and I need calm and space for that to happen. Which is not really a thing in capitalism.
Favorite Food:
Right now, something that I like a lot but haven’t had in a long time is Croquettas de Jamón. My mom is Cuban and I grew up eating a lot of Cuban food. They’re kind of like mozzarella-shaped things that are made of ground ham, breaded and fried.
Favorite movie/ TV Show:
Ooh! My favorite tv shows right now are Bojack Horseman and The Sopranos.
Favorite Book:
I like audio books a lot..Daring Greatly by Brenee Brown.
Favorite artist:
Can I just collectively say the Boston Drag scene? I am really super inspired by a lot of the performers in Boston. I feel like Boston is a really hard place to be an artist but somehow the performers are hanging on, making cool stuff and taking care of each other.
What skill would you like to master?
Ooh, um. I really love bending with the acetylene torch, and that’s something I would love to get better at.
Favorite tool in the shop:
Ooooh um, probably the grinder with the flap wheel. It’s just super useful and you can do a lot of things with it. You can do finish work, which takes a long time but is very satisfying once it’s done.