March is Women’s History Month. The Ford design group is commemorating this by featuring a weekly profile series focusing on women clay modelers. With their subtle expertise, artistic touch and meticulous attention to detail, these women bring a unique set of skills and experience to their craft at Ford.

Nora Beck struggled in school after being diagnosed early in life with dyslexia. Now a clay modeler at Ford, she took special education classes for reading and writing before discovering art in the third grade.

“It was a moment where I was like, ‘Ok, I can be really good at something,’” said Beck. Growing up in Milwaukee, she began to hone her craft in painting and drawing at a young age. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree in terms of having an artistic background, as Beck’s mother worked as an interior designer.

Beck began working with clay in middle school. She remembers building relationships with her art teachers so she could work on projects after school, utilizing the school’s kiln and welding equipment. After high school, she attended University of Minnesota-Duluth, graduating with a fine arts degree in sculpture and ceramics. She then went on to earn an industrial design degree from Milwaukee Institute of Design.

Beck moved to the Detroit area with her husband and found out about an automotive clay modeler open house at a local community college, so she passed along her portfolio. A couple weeks later, she received a call from the studio asking if she wanted to join Ford.

In her two years as a Ford clay modeler, Beck has already worked on numerous programs such as Bronco, F-150 and Lincoln vehicles. Her work includes operating the milling machines, clay sculpting with her hands, and wrapping clay models with Di-Noc – a thin film that makes the clay model look like it has been painted.

“I have never been a car person, but working in the studio for the past couple years has shown me that cars are a work of art,” said Beck.

As technology progresses and the design studio develops expertise in digital tools, such as virtual reality and computer-aided design software, some may wonder where traditional clay modeling fits. Beck doesn’t see it going anywhere anytime soon.

“When you put a digital and physical model next to each other, you can see the difference,” she said. “We still need clay modeling, because clay allows us to make very small, detailed adjustments on the fly that digital tools can’t.”

Beck sees her fine arts background getting its greatest use from her clay modeling work at Ford, as others she went to school with live the starving artist life. Besides a few of her friends who opened a gallery together, she sees a lot of her classmates moving on from art to jobs that can actually pay the bills. Working as a Ford clay modeler allows her to live the best of both worlds, with an enjoyable career focused on the arts.