Page 12 - HIWT Winter2016 World of Welding

Passion for Welding Turns Into Creative Artwork For Graduate

Hello! My name is Lucas
Rakieten and I am from This “Birds of Paradise” was made
Leslie, Michigan. I attended as a wedding present for my friends.
Hobart Institute of Welding I made this piece because I was
Technology in May 2015 striving to make something unique.
from thru March 2016 taking It was my first project combining
the Combination Structural & copper and steel and happily it
Pipe Welding Program along turned out better than I expected.
with Pipe Layout and Pipe I spent what felt like a week
Downhill elective classes. pounding every leaf and flower on
an I-beam I picked up out of a scrap
My passion for welding pile. The project was well worth the
started my junior year of high school at the Capital Area Career two split hammer handles, smashed fingers and new pair of now
Center. That’s when I learned you could do a lot more with welding burned up blue jeans.
then just putting two pieces of plates together. Of course it's always
important to do your class work and learn the technical side of The carousel was a project I was
welding, but our teachers never shied away from any creative ideas. commissioned to make. My only
requirement was to make it spin.
Jeff Grossman and Scott Poe, our welding teachers at Capitol Area At first I thought the idea was
Career Center, never discouraged their students from learning or kind of uninspiring until I started
wanting to do projects and encouraged us saying that welders can building it – then the ideas started
build anything as long as they set their minds to it. From then on I've to come to me. One of the hardest
been welding anything that comes to mind and turning it into art. If parts of this was trying to find a
I need anything and am capable of making by my own knowledge of TIG welder to weld the bearings
welding, I will take full advantage of that ability. on. Once that problem was solved,
I came upon the task of making the
I returned home after completing the program at HIWT and am horses. Constructing the horses was
currently a full time student at Lansing Community College where much more time consuming than I
for 2 years I will be taking classes to work towards my Welding anticipated; taking a whole week
Engineer Degree and then move onto Ferris State University. to get them finished. Now I'm sure
some of you reading this will think that's a long time just for some
Roses are the first artwork horses, but when you’re trying to cut metal with a jigsaw from 1995
creations I learned how to make it can be a challenge. I can also assure you a "metal" cutting jigsaw
with my skills; they are also one blade won't always cut metal; sometimes it's just an excessive
of the most common things I make amount of violent jerking around.
due to the fact that a lot of people
want one for themselves. Each With all the pieces cut and set aside, and I finally assembled all
rose is different, having its own the pieces together and I saw the finished project, I changed my
special individual strength and mind and realized just how creative it actually was. I always get
beauty. For each rose I create, I a feeling of pride when I build something beautiful, unique or cool
because that's when the full idea from my mind is transformed into
something real with using the art of welding and my hands.

The Christmas tree that I made was for decoration and for a
purpose. It was around Thanksgiving in 2015 when I made this to
serve as my holiday tree in my apartment while I attended Hobart
Institute of Welding Technology. It’s made from old horse shoes
try to change something – such lying around. The added lights and ornaments made if feel like
as the way its petals get cut home.
or the hand tools I use – so
that no two roses are alike. Never did I think that a year later my Christmas tree would end up
I believe it is only a quality on the cover of World of Welding and my art would be displayed in
rose if it can stand alone in a the magazine.
crowded room; it has to be an
attention getter that can draw -Lucas Rakieten
a crowd in.

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