What do you do after a laborious day in the laboratory? Cultivate the art of watching bad TV? Why not try Creative Welding? It is one of many cultural courses (from Capoeira to Carillon playing, from Tai chi to Break dancing) offered each semester by the Vrijhof Cultuurcenter.
Creative Welding is the sequel to Welding: The Basics, offered each fall. The course objective is not so much to improve technique but to execute learned techniques more creatively. It is so popular that there are two classes, each of which meets once a week, Tuesday or Thursday, from 7 - 10 pm. There is a fee of euro 35 with a Union plus card or euro 70 without; extravagant projects may require additional material costs. Students come from ITC, UT, and Saxon Hogeschool. Though most are Dutch, this semester some students from Greece and India are exploring the art of welding. All participants agree that it provides an excellent opportunity for gezellig social contact after a brain-draining day at the computer.
A local welding artist, Henk Maassen, has been teaching the course since 1985. By profession, Henk is an artist who crafts sculptures and other objets d'art, but, alas, this is not very lucrative, so he works construction and interior renovation to pay the bills. He has been incessantly creating since childhood. Henk estimates that over the last 40 years, he has produced at least 700 different objects, from jewelry and clothing to drawings and woodwork, using a variety of media including copper, buttons, and nails.
Working as an artist can be an isolating profession. Teaching offers a much needed chance to communicate with amateurs who are interested in similar artistic endeavors.
Henk relishes the opportunity to work with young people because 'they bring new ideas.'
Years ago, a student demanded that Henk tell him what to make, lamenting 'I'm not creative, I'm not an artist.' But Henk insisted that everybody has ideas. Nonetheless, he admits, 'What's good on paper is not always realistic.' The challenge for Henk as a teacher is to help students transform their ideas into reality. He limits his function, however, to guidance because students must do their own work in order to be proud of it.
Over the years, Henk has witnessed the birth of some rather unique works of art. A two-meter pair of scissors, a barbershop chair, and a fabric covered armoire stand out in his mind. Incidentally, the creator of the last item dropped out of the UT shortly after taking Creative Welding and enrolled in the Eindhoven School of Design. Henk favors projects whose form is both original and functional. Currently Tuesday evening regular Tanya Teerling is constructing a table whose aesthetic qualities rival its utility. Her peer, Edwin Dertien, has a wacky project underway; he is making a 50 cm metal horseshoe crab on wheels, inspired by Robot Wars.
Beginning May 30 you can see the fruits of their labor as the Creative Welding students exhibit their work in the Vrijhof.
For more information about Vrijhof cultural courses, visit http://www.utwente.nl/disc/ukdisc/ and click on Culture.
