UFV-led welding project with high school students reimagines famous sculpture

Finding Resolution sits in the lobby of the Trades & Technology Centre on the UFV Chilliwack campus.

In the right hands, a welding torch is just as useful as a paint brush in creating beautiful art, and proof of that now sits just inside the front door of the UFV Trades and Technology Centre on the Chilliwack campus.

A group of Grade 11-12 students from the Chilliwack School District enrolled in a dual-credit welding foundations course at UFV and created a reimagined version of the famous sculpture The Thinker . Completed by Auguste Rodin in 1904, the original is crafted from bronze and depicts a muscular man sitting on a rock, chin resting on his right hand as though deep in thought.

The UFV version transforms the classical form into contemporary geometry. Called Finding Resolution, it stands around six feet tall and is created from 180 unique polygon faces cut from 10-gauge steel sheets.

“The polygonal design presented challenges in compound angle fitting, distortion control, and visual continuity,” says instructor Ethan Lombard. “The project was not only a test of welding skill, but of patience and collaboration.

The original Thinker represents deep introspection. A man is caught in a moment of internal struggle and profound contemplation. UFV’s version symbolizes the multifaceted and often nonlinear path of education and thought.

A student works on Finding Resolution.

“Finding Resolution builds on that foundation, reinterpreting the act of thinking as a fractured, dynamic, and evolving process,” Ethan says. “The polygonal style is intentionally fragmented to evoke the unsettling, often disjointed nature of early thought and the complexity of finding clarity. The name of the sculpture reflects both an emotional and intellectual journey, finding resolution in thought, and in oneself.

“In the context of education, it symbolizes how knowledge reshapes us: initial ideas are challenged, refined, and reconstructed through experience, instruction, and reflection. Just as raw steel is shaped by heat, pressure, and process, students transform through their engagement with both material and concept.”

For the Grade 11 and 12 dual-credit students from Chilliwack and Sardis secondaries who worked on the project, it was an exercise in communication and problem-solving and a vehicle for confidence-building, creativity, and identity. The welding skills they learned and used went well beyond what one might find in a textbook, and for some it may have clarified their decision to pursue welding as a career.

“This project highlights the transformative power of dual-credit programs — giving high school students the chance to experience university-level learning, develop real-world skills, and discover their potential,” says Dr. Teresa Kisilevich, Dean of the Faculty of Applied and Technical Studies. “Under the expert guidance of Ethan, these students were able to create something beautiful while honing their skills. And, when they return UFV to finish their welding training, they’ll see their work proudly displayed at the front entrance — a lasting symbol of what’s possible when talent, teaching, and opportunity come together.”

Finding Resolution will also be entered into a national contest, Forged by Youth , which was created and funded by the Canadian Welding Bureau Foundation in 2021.

Ethan believes Finding Resolution will have a good shot at a top spot.

“It is a technically ambitious, creatively driven, and symbolically rich project that empowered young welders to think, build, and grow,” he says. “Through metal, mentorship, and meaning, it forged more than a sculpture. It forged identity, clarity, and skill.”