Eisenhower welding students craft roses to sell for Valentine's

YAKIMA, Wash. — Eisenhower High School’s welding classroom is filled with industrial equipment: masks, torches, and powerful shears and saws for cutting metal.

But some of the program’s students are focused on something more delicate: making metal roses for Valentine’s Day to raise money for the school’s welding club.

The painted, metal flowers begin as a metal sheet. Petals are cut from the sheet using a computer-controlled machine. Students then grind off the rough edges and sand them to be painted.

After welding the petals and premade leaves onto a metal stem, students take needle-nose pliers, and bend and twist the petals, turning them from sheet metal into art.

Lastly, the roses are painted and coated to give them extra luster.  

For most people, welding summons images of industrial work. But as Eisenhower’s roses show, that isn’t always the case.

"You can think of welding as an art form," says Chris Crosslin, a junior.

As with any original work of art, each rose is slightly different.

"I might twist the center a little tighter, or I might bend these back a little more," Crosslin says, pointing to petals on a rose in full bloom that he made.  

Eisenhower students have been making the roses — and tweaking their design — for four years, welding teacher Gary Kurpgeweit says. "This is a third-generation rose."

Students figured out a way to add the distinctive twist of petals at the center of an opening rose bloom.

One of Kurpgeweit’s advanced students can finish a rose in an hour.

Rope Whaley, a senior, figures he’s made 10 to 15 this year. Since first taking welding as a freshman, he’s given roses to his mother, grandmothers and girlfriend.

The roses are for sale all year, but only mass produced before Valentine’s Day. Money from the sales supports the school’s welding club. It’s part of SkillsUSA, a national organization promoting education for trade, technical and skilled service jobs.

Kurpgeweit’s advanced students compete in regional, state and national contests put on by SkillsUSA. Last June, Whaley won first place in welding at the national competition. He wants to pursue a career in the trade.

"A lot of times you think about welding, you don’t think about something delicate," Whaley says. "But there’s a big part of welding that’s about delicate stuff."

Buy a rose

To order a rose for Valentine’s Day, call Gary Kurpgeweit at 509-573-2688 by Monday. (Roses can be ordered year-round.) Roses cost $25.

 
• Dan Catchpole can be reached at 509-577-7684 or dcatchpole@yakimaherald.com.