In a Pinterest-soaked generation, the term craft usually evokes images of pasting photos to journals or knitting a sweater for a Pomeranian.
For some Auburn students, however, their craft is much more involved than melting some crayons on a canvas.
Christy Cameron, junior in industrial design, recently spent her summer as a blacksmith at the National Ornamental Metal Museum in Memphis, Tenn.
Cameron was given the chance to create fine metal works in a metal shop that were later displayed within the museum.
"I've always enjoyed making things," Cameron said. "I was able to make some coat hooks, S-hooks and some fire pokers. I helped work on a fire grate. I also got to work with casting aluminum and iron. I made switch plates, decorative bookends and some bottle openers that were for the shops."
Cameron spent two days per week during the summer months in front of a roaring fire, hammering raw metal into works of art.
Although the shop was hot and the work physically taxing, Cameron said she enjoyed the hands-on learning experience.
"My favorite part was... watching something that started as a straight piece of metal turn into whatever I wanted it to be and sort of meld and form into the shapes I wanted," Cameron said.
As one would expect, pounding on a sheet of red-hot metal came with its risks.
"I burned myself a few times," Cameron said. "I almost dumped melted aluminum on another person by accident. You think [aluminum] is pretty light until you get eight pounds of it and it's boiling hot and you have to hold it with an 8-foot pole."
Although she can't continue her craft while in Auburn, Cameron said blacksmithing was an activity she would revisit.
"Hopefully I will be able to work with metal again," Cameron said. "I'm thinking of taking it up as a hobby once I have a house and I can put it in a shed, maybe work on weekends."
Rhett Kubasiak, junior in aerospace engineering, has been developing his woodworking skills since high school.
Kubasiak has created multiple pieces of fine furniture, some of which has been entered into competitions.
"I've built a coffee table, desk, fishing pole rack, shadow box, hope chest and a guitar," Kubasiak said.
He spent his summer with youth mission organization TEAM Effort passing his woodworking knowledge on to the next generation.
Kubasiak taught middle- and high-school students how to build roofs and decks on houses.
Now back in Auburn, he is already planning his next big project.
"My next goal is to build a guitar with only hand tools," Kubasiak said. "I'm working on collecting the tools right now."
Freshman Braxton Pugh is following in his father's footsteps building custom cabinetry.
Pugh's father owns a custom cabinet shop in Suwanee, Ga., where he first learned the craft.
Pugh, a pre-engineering major, said owning his own shop is a goal he hopes to pursue in the future.
"I love to build cabinets," Pugh said. "That would actually be one of my favorite things to do... just settle down and start a cabinet shop somewhere. That would be awesome."
Pugh put his skills to work when it came to furnishing his dorm room this year.
"I think my favorite project was building the shelves and stuff for our dorms, because I didn't want to spend $300 for that, and just decided, hey, I'm going to make it for $40," Pugh said.
He said he hopes to use skills here in Auburn, but has not yet found an opportunity to do so.
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