Students at this Kitchener school leave lasting impression with sculpture art project

Although students at Groh Public School have said goodbye to their classrooms for another school year, one art project remains behind for people to enjoy for years to come.

Grade 7 students worked with local blacksmith and artist Sandra Dunn over the past year to create a metal sculpture called Forging Legacies that will now be on display in the school's entrance.

"It's like a once in a lifetime sort of thing that most people don't get to do. And I didn't think I would ever get to do it," said Taylor Arndt, one of the students who worked on the sculpture. 

The sculpture depicts a copper globe with copper and steel birds flying across it. Around the globe are words written in various languages. The sculpture is meant to capture themes of immigration, belonging and community. 

Jennifer Schaefer, a Grade 7 teacher, said learning was embedded in the entire process.

"They had to learn about collaboration, they had to learn problem solving, they had to learn to really think critically and deeply," Schaefer said.

"The beauty of this piece is that students see the culmination of their work that really came to life, that it has purpose and it has meaning. It isn't just a one off."

The sculpture was part of a larger project that brings together interviews the students did with their parents recounting their family's or their own experience as immigrants. 

Students began working on the sculpture in June 2024 with blacksmith Sandra Dunn. Dunn says she wanted to involve the students in the blacksmithing process. 

"I didn't want them to have some design idea that they did on a computer and then 3D print out. I wanted them to get involved in the physical making of the object," she said. 

Forging the sculpture

When students began making the sculpture, Dunn brought in a four by four sheet of copper and cut a hole in it. She then had the students do what is known in blacksmithing as "dishing."  

"The kids spent an entire day dishing the copper. So basically making a giant copper bowl with wooden mallets," she said. 

Tanish Dave, a student who worked on the sculpture, said it was "honestly really fun" to work on the sculpture.

"I didn't think school was about doing stuff like that. So it was interesting doing something new for the first time," Dave said.

Yazan Al Haj Ali, another one of the students, was apprehensive to try blacksmithing at first. 

"When we started I thought that it was going to be very difficult. I thought I was going to have back pain. But after we started hammering, I really liked it," he said. 

Al Haj Ali added that the most difficult part of forging the sculpture was making the metal birds. 

"It was really hard and it was very challenging. We had to make the feathers look round and soft. We had to keep working on the same feather for a really long time," he said.

Bringing students together

Student Yuvraj Bhalla jumped at the chance to work on the sculpture. 

"It was really exciting for me and my classmates to actually help out and build something of our own that is going to be in the school," Bhalla said. 

"To me the art piece represents everyone being brought together to do something. People who have never talked to each other collaborated. I think it's  just a sense of teamwork."

That sentiment was echoed by fellow student Harjap Ball. 

"It was relieving to know that all the hours we spent on this project actually ended up doing lots of good. It can leave behind a legacy for our school," he said. 

The sculpture is intended to be a permanent installation that future students and visitors can view and learn from. 

Dave says that he hopes future students will be curious about the story behind the sculpture. 

"I want them to look at the art and think about how it was made. I want them to try and figure out the process that must have happened to make it," he said.