Every year, school organises farewell for the students who are in grade 12 which is the batch of that year. The farewell is planned and organised by grade 11 students. The theme of the farewell was ___________ I was a part of the art and decor team. I suggested to take a completely different approach where for the first time we created decorations/installations by using makers skills. I made stars out of scrapped metal. I had to plan and take measurements of the scrap and then cut it into pieces and then weld it to make a finished product. After that I spray painted it. The work was done in a hurry as this idea striked in my mind on the last day of preparation yet the end product was fascinating. I also made moons out wood, the wood was collected from broken tables and then cut into moon shaped pieces. An entry gate was also made up of metal, it was quite large – around 6 ft in height and 5 feet in width. It was painted and covered with fairy lights which made it shine at night.  

LO1- It had been 4 years since I started learning maker’s skills where my primary strengths are metal and wood work which helped me execute this idea. 

LO2- It was a challenge to complete the work in a day. The entry gate also broke during the installation at the end moment just minutes before we would welcome our guests. Welding machinery had to be bought and it was way tougher to repair than I expected it to; I also had to repaint the portion which was repaired. 

LO3- We had been planning the decoration for several weeks but ideas didn’t stop to pop. Although making these was a last minute plant but this helped me develop and master the skill of spray painting. I found spray painting to be a difficult task as I would often leave patches of paint on the surface which makes it look unpleasant. Will painting this product I explored a new style which helped me solve the issue and to master the technique. 

LO4- With continuous welding, I had burns near my eyes and on the rest of the face. I still didn’t stop and kept on working to complete the task. A layer of skin peeled off during the next several days. 

LO5- Planning collaboratively helped us gage better ideas and we could give input to others’ ideas so we could give our best.

LO7- I didn’t use new materials and made all the decorations from waste/scrap materials. Reusing is must to curb emissions.