Standard Issue Iron Pour 2010

The Standard Issue Iron Pour was one of the most exciting projects yet this summer, held
on Saturday, July 24, 2010, in Sylvan Park. Two workshops allowed 25 participants to carve a design into a scratch-block mold, which was then filled with molten iron at the Iron Pour.

In addition to the workshop participants, local artist and Iron Pour producer Karl Unnasch and a group of artists in residence worked on their own sand molds the week prior to the Pour. On the day of the Pour, these artists melted iron scraps and poured the glowing liquid metal into all of the molds. It was a very cool (though extremely hot!) project and we were all thrilled with how wonderful the cast iron looked after the sand molds were broken and the molten iron was cooled.

Here is a sombrero made by one of the artists in residence:

And here is the line-up of cooling plaques made by the 25 workshop participants:

Holding the Iron Pour in a public space like Sylvan Park was a very good way to attract people from off the streets who many not be exposed to it otherwise. I think most people are very curious about art, but may not think they have enough knowledge or courage to participate in a workshop or class. By hosting the Iron Pour in the park on a busy Saturday, we were able to teach people a lot about the creative process of casting iron -- and hopefully get them excited about future projects.