Working with metal first became part of Reckitt’s artistic repertoire in the 1930s, when she made use of the material in the creation of pub signs across West Somerset. In the late 1960s, she returned to metalwork, again creating relief work, and later three-dimensional sculpture that would form an important part of her artistic language in the final two decades of her life.

Reckitt recognised that, in order for her metalwork to develop, she would need to learn to weld, which would give her access to new materials and new ways of building up her forms. In the late 1960s, she began metalworking classes at Roadwater Forge, which were overseen by the blacksmith Harry Horrobin. It was the start of a new creative journey.