Wendy Walsh, 55, journeyman carpenter working in the St. Louis construction trades for the past 30 years.

BIOGRAPHICAL DATA

FAMILY • Married to Andrew Gieselman, who is retired from his job as a cabinet maker. They have two cats, Olive and Woody. Walsh is the youngest of three daughters born to Claire and Jack Walsh. Jack worked for Monsanto Co. and wound up being the managing director of the company's operations in Johannesburg, South Africa, from about 1971 through 1977. Walsh's older sisters are Sherry Everstine, a microbiologist in Denver, and Sandi Peirce, a children's clothes designer in Florida.

EDUCATION • Walsh attended Northwest High School in House Springs through her junior year, when the family moved to South Africa. She finished school there but never actually graduated from high school because of the difference in the academic year. Washington University, B.F.A., printmaking, 1977.

From printmaking to carpentry, how did you make that switch?

I drifted into printmaking, too. I started out thinking I would do graphic design but I didn't like it and discovered printmaking, which I did like. Then while I was in school, I got interested in woodworking. Wash U. didn't offer a woodworking program, but someone ran a little studio in the basement of our dorm. It was fun and I learned a lot, although everything I learned was wrong and everything I made from that time has fallen apart. But I really liked it and learned about wood and about tools.

What did you do for a job when you graduated?

Well, there certainly weren't any jobs for printmakers. Someone told me about a little shop in Webster Groves, Woodpecker cabinet shop, which was run by two Wash U. grad students — an architecture student and an art student. I went there and they gave me a job.

Did you make any money?

They paid minimum wage but that was enough for me. They didn't make any money, either. They would show us the books every month to prove they really couldn't afford to pay any more. I met Andrew there.

When did you finally get a job that paid something?

When I joined the carpenters union.

How did that come about?

It was about 1980 and because of affirmative action, people kept telling me that I should become a union carpenter. I had to become an apprentice first and I went around looking for work at construction firms. I went to Waterhout Construction, and I showed them pictures of the work I had done at Woodpecker. The owner's daughter hired me on the spot.

Was it hard work?

I got lucky because they had me doing interior work, framing and finishing, which I liked much better than I would have liked outside work. After about 2½ years I became a journeyman and then they immediately made me a foreman. A lot of the men, and it was nearly all men, didn't like having a woman tell them what to do. I stayed with Waterhout for 14 years.

Did you work on many interesting projects?

Oh, yes. I worked on the Fox Theatre restoration, the Admiral rehab and the elaborate interior finish of the Ritz-Carlton. I became an expert on building and installing custom stairs, which is one of the more challenging jobs in the carpentry trade.

Why stairs?

They are hard to do and I liked the challenge. And I wanted job security. I wanted to become indispensable so I would have job security. I went to work for a stair company in 1994, and now I work for In-Step Designs, another stair company.

Have you achieved recognition for your work?

Yes, I won a "Craftsmanship Award" from the St. Louis Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and a "Best Of Casework" award for a piece of furniture I made that was shown at a Midwest Woodworking Exhibit.

You're retiring on Sept. 1. What are you going to do?

I've taken up metalsmithing, which I'm really enjoying. I'm making jewelry and other objects. My website is www.wwalshdesigns.com.

You live in a house in Wildwood that you and Andrew built. Would you ever go into homebuilding or a related field?

No. It's much too hard!

What other sorts of things do you like to do?

I like hiking and bicycling and gardening. I sew, too.

What was the last best book you read?

"The Road," by Cormac McCarthy.

Your vehicle?

Oh, I just bought a VW Golf. It's a TDI — "clean diesel." It's a very green car. The color? It's silver, of course.