FORT ATKINSON — Thanks to a newly-renovated metal and fabrication space, Fort Atkinson’s MATC campus hosted this year’s Metal Mania, bringing in representatives from other MATC campuses as well as artists, vendors and other organizations.
The event, which ran from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., also brought in high school students from across the county.
Curious viewers could try their hand at metal stamping, where they would sit next to the blacksmith demonstration and add their own hammering sounds to the mix after selecting a tractor or barn metal cutout and indenting letters into the shape.
Vintage tractors were on display as viewers walked into the metal space to see the six sculpture teams hard at work. Each of the six teams, hailing from Fort Atkinson High School, Johnson Creek High School, Marshall High School, Madison College, Design Alliance Architects, Inc. and local communities, had only a few hours to forge a metal sculpture from recycled parts fitting the “Wisconsin Farms” theme.
Between and 9 a.m. and 2:45 p.m., the teams made of individuals who were at least 15 years old could be seen putting together their sculptures.
Maddy Weyh, a Marshall High School student who worked on the MHS team, first became interested in metals because the school offers a class in it.
“I like the creative aspect of it,” she said of why she started enjoying working with metal. “I like doing hard work. It’s a hard working, hands-on type of job.”
Before the event, teams foraged for a binful of recycling scrap metal from Alter Metal Recycling, one of the event’s main donors and sponsors.
“When we went to the scrapyard, we actually had five different ideas that we wanted. So we just kind of grabbed materials for everything,” Weyh said.
Teams could use whatever materials they wanted to from the foraged bin, laying out parts on tarps that passerby could check out.
At Metal Mania, the MHS team considered the items that they had salvaged and found that the best way to utilize them was by making a Highland cow sculpture.
The top three winning sculptures received a cash prize from the event.
While forging a piece of art out of a difficult material like metal could be intimidating to some, Weyh enjoyed working with her team in front of audiences that kept safe behind a rope.
“It’s not as hard as you think it is. It’s not as scary. But it’s also a lot of practice and learning the different techniques of welding,” Weyh said.
Weyh, who wants to work as a welder after high school, is able to start building the skills she needs for that job as a high school sophomore.
“It’s my first year welding, and I’ve already had the opportunity to come to this,” she said of the way she’s able to build pre-professional skills.
In a male-dominated field, Weyh will join a growing percentage of female welders. The competition did feature a number of young girls participating on several teams.
“At first, I was a little intimidated seeing that there’s more guys than girls,” she said. “But then also, I was like, I know what I’m doing. I know my skills. So I just have to put them to use.”
Beyond the hands-on skills associated with welding and blacksmithing, viewers could also see some of the machines that the trade uses.
While watching the teams work through showers of sparks, visitors could also see demonstrations on a water jet, plasma cutter and laser, even taking home some of the decorative stainless steel fabrications made in the demos.
After enjoying demonstrations and visiting information booths, a free barbecue lunch was served thanks to generous food sponsors. Cash donations made at the food tent were matched by Alter Metal Recycling.
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