Hannah Megan Thomas: Kansas State University

K-State got its start in 1858 when Bluemont Central College was founded and 53 students enrolled. Five years later K-State became the first fully operational land-grant college in America. Kansas State University is 150 years old and is recognized by the Princeton Review as one of America's best colleges. The Graduate School offers 65 master's degrees, 45 doctoral degrees and 22 graduate certificates in multiple disciplines across campus. More than 23,800 from all 50 states and more than 90 countries. More than 250 undergraduate majors and options are available.

This is Willard Hall, the art block. This building includes painting, drawing, photography, metal smithing, jewellery, ceramics, sculpture, printmaking and mixed media studios. We are on the top floor and have 3 rooms just for metals!

Willard Hall

We have keys and access to the studios and equipment 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is such a huge benefit, with keeping up with deadlines. We also have our own spaces, so when there are classes in the other rooms, we always have our own desk with our own basic but essential tools. Here is the entrance to our studio.

In the first and main room, it has tools, a heat gun area, numerous pickles, sinks, doorways to two other rooms, tools, computer with scanner/printer, casting area, and spaces; every desk has 4 spaces, a 'Sharp objects' bucket, a few sandpaper tiles, and a sink, which has numerous scourers, cleaning alcohol, and other cleaning tools. Every space has a light, 2 different types of bench pegs, 2 clamps, wax for blades, saw and a pair of glasses.

Room 1

Individual Spaces

Here are some of the numerous tools such as hammers, doming blocks, ring mandrels, hand drills, centre punches and lots of useful things that I didn't even know existed!

3 tool cupboards

At the end of the heat gun area, there is a sink and a 'Super Pickle' (yes, this really is what it's called).

Heat gun area

This is the room where hammering and forging happens. There are also 4 extra heat guns, (13 in total of the whole metals studio). Also in this room, there are plenty of lockers for students to use. To the left of this picture, you can see there is a sink, and a huge pickle tub for larger pieces. There are 4 anvils to work on, also two tables with adjustable mushroom steaks on. In this room there are two sinks.

Room 2

Lockers

Hammer table

Anvils & hammering tables

Forging Mill

Rolling Mill

Hammer and steaks cupboard

In between this room, and the next room, is an area for polishing, there are 4 polishing booths, 2 with adjustable parts, and 2 polishing areas, that actually have 2 wheels each; three for silver and one for copper, there is also a bronze buffer available in a different room.