Dylan McClain and his students spent 3 weeks developing their skills in metal and welding to fabricate their own art in collaboration with Pueblo Community College.
Their first days were spent in the school’s makers’ space, where they reviewed basic welding etiquette and techniques. Looking back, Eli Smith remembers “we did a lot of fabrication and went over things like how to weld the pieces together or how much gas to use.”
Most students focused on developing basic welding skills, while more experienced or returning students delved deeper into more complex skills. Welding isn’t an easy trade, and it won’t come easy at first, but throughout their grappling, Dylan noted, “Through this whole experience, I really hope they all learned the value in making mistakes, problem solving, thinking creatively, practicing, and collaborating. Every student had to work through some sort of setback where they had to problem-solve and collaborate their way out of it.”
Students were brought to Belt Salvage in Cortez to gather metals and scraps for their sculpture, and got to work near the end of their block. As a team, they’ve decided to mimic a tree surrounded by flowers and use various scraps to add texture. After dedicating so much time to this osprey block, “My favorite part of the project was learning how to make the flowers, and if something didn’t work, we’d try to come up with a new idea to figure out how to create the pieces,” says freshman Eli Smith.
Their project is still ongoing, and behind the scenes, a “personal welder” is adding the components worked on during the block together into their final art piece. The final masterpiece is expected to be finished by December and will be installed along the river trail for the entire Durango community to enjoy.
