‘Big Al,’ a 20-foot-long Allosaurus sculpture created by the SVC Weld Club
The Skagit Valley College Weld Club has created an eight-foot-tall and 20-foot-long Allosaurus sculpture for the Mount Vernon Arts Commission‘s permanent Art Collection. City of Mount Vernon Mayor Jill Boudreau will dedicate the sculpture during a ceremony on the SVC Mount Vernon campus at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 21.
“The Mount Vernon Arts Commission has enjoyed a partnership with the Skagit Valley Welding Technology Club that has provided several magnificent unique sculptures to the Mount Vernon public art collection,” said Boudreau. “The Arts Commission is happy to have partnered with the SVC Weld Club on this brilliant Dinosaur sculpture.”
SVC and the Mount Vernon Arts Commission agreed to site the sculpture at Angst Hall near the Welding Technology facility. The dedication will take place outside Angst Hall. The public is invited to attend.
“The Mount Vernon Arts Commission has enjoyed a partnership with the Skagit Valley Welding Technology Club that has provided several magnificent unique sculptures to the Mount Vernon public art collection,” said Kevin Hartman, chair of Mount Vernon Arts Commission. “The Arts Commission is happy to have partnered with the SVC Weld Club on this brilliant Dinosaur sculpture.”
The Allosaurus, which the club affectionately calls ‘Big Al,’ began as a small model last summer, and was scaled up to a four-foot-tall and nine-foot-long model during the winter. “Each piece got more and more complicated,” said Mary Kuebelbeck, Welding Technology Department chair and club advisor. Big Al is the seventh piece in an agreement between the club and the commission.
(from left to right) Mary Kuebelbeck, Welding Technology Department chair; Karl Grotzke, Shannon Hodgin, Sabitri Dolson, and Jordan Piazza.
According to Kuebelbeck, there are four key club members who volunteered two to three hours after each class and most of their Fridays to work on this specific piece. Those students are Jordan Piazza, Sabitri Dolson, Karl Grotzke, and Shannon Hodgin.
The commissioned projects allow students to transfer what they learn in the classroom into a practical application. With every Weld Club sculpture, there is strict adherence to the American Welding Society’s Weld Procedures. This experience allows club members to develop teamwork, take ownership of fabrication projects, and demonstrate reliability.
“They had to convince me that they could fabricate to this scale and that they would be dedicated through completion,” Kuebelbeck said. “By doing that, it became their project … They brought the motivation; I gave them the opportunity.”
Learn more about SVC’s Welding Program at skagit.edu/welding. Visit skagit.edu for directions to campus and a campus map.