FHS teacher completes ‘externship’ at Creative Edge

FAIRFIELD — Fairfield High School art teacher David Kraemer recently completed an “externship” with Creative Edge in Fairfield.

Kraemer completed the externship as part of a statewide STEM program that pairs teachers with businesses so they can hone a skill that they will incorporate into their classroom. Kraemer said 80 teachers in Iowa participated in the program this year, and he was one of the few art teachers, since many of the other teachers are in science.

Creative Edge is a subsidiary of Weaton Companies. Nate Weaton, its president and chief executive officer, asked Kraemer to design a large piece of wall art to showcase the company’s brands and its values. Kraemer did that on a computer using a program called Illustrator. His design was then carved into stone using Creative Edge’s water-jet stonecutting equipment.

Kraemer said he presented four unique designs for the wall art. After one of those was chosen, he made various rounds of revisions to it. Once a final design was decided upon, he turned it over to an engineer who programmed it into an auto-CAD machine to cut the stones.

The final work of art has several hundred pieces of stone in it, featuring dozens of colors. Though Kraemer’s externship ended last week, the artwork was still under construction. Once it’s done, it will be placed on a wall in the company’s new office space.

Kraemer said he thoroughly enjoyed the STEM program and plans to recommend it to other teachers. He hopes that, with his new knowledge of Illustrator, he can make that into a class of its own at the high school.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com