At the start of the year room 11 got split up into two different groups one in the cooking room and one in the hard materials room there we learnt how to cook and to work with hard materials.
Nearing the end of the term the cooking group moved on to making Taonga's (a treasure for us or someone else to show identity or something special). To make it we had to do a few planning pages to find out what we were going to make it of, who it was going to be for and what design we wanted it to look like. We had three choices of what we could make it out of, they were acrylic, resin or timber.
After planning we had to make a final drawing that fitted to our plan of what we wanted it to look like and to be made of, then make a model out of cardboard. Then comes the making part.
If we're making our Taonga from resin we have to make a mould from a plastic sheet to pour the resin and hardener into. Then if we want to, we can embed things in the resin by pouring a little resin into the bottom and waiting for it to partially dry before placing an object(s) on it and covering it over with more resin. Also you can colour it by mixing coloured dye with the resin. Then you sand the edges to make sure it is smooth and the right shape.
If you are using acrylic you can either cut out your shape or Thermoform it which is when you soften the acrylic and bend it into shape. Then you sand the edges.
If you're using timber first you have to draw your pattern onto it and cut it out and drill any necessary holes. Next you have to sand it down with a very fine sandpaper to ensure the smoothness and roundness of the edges. If you want your timber to shine you have to use a special oil on the timber.
To finish, we have to add on any necessary accessories to our Taonga and evaluate the project. Then comes the moment of truth, whether we give it away or use it ourselves we should always keep it as a treasure and pass it on through generations more.
By Macgregor Jones
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