Oct. 7, 2015

By Mary Davisson

It was a chilly Saturday morning on Oct. 3, but a majority of the sculptors already shed their sweaters and coats in favor of the furnace full of molten iron. This was  the largest pour Professor Teresa Lind has hosted with an end total of 1,500 lbs of iron.

The sculpture studio in the Center for the Arts is full of students from UW-Whitewater as well as students from universities from surrounding areas. Along with the students are professors and community members, there to have their projects poured.

“I hope that everyone is safe and all the molds cast beautifully,” Katerina Sanerib, a former professor from Milwaukee, said.

Safety is an important part of this event. Everyone is required to wear goggles, fire proof jackets and boots.

People take turns at maintaining the furnace as well as pouring the iron and moving sand molds and ceramic molds. Observers help by heating up the ceramic shell molds with propane torches because otherwise they can explode when the molten iron has been poured into them.

“Seeing the process of everyone working together is the reward,” said Ariana Berman, a BFA major.

Whatever part the individuals play during the pour it is guaranteed to involve a great amount of physical work. It takes two individuals to carry the pot full of iron along with two more additional people to help skim impurities off the surface and to block the fumes from getting into everyone’s eyes.

“Sculpture is like exercise mixed with art,” Berman said.  “This is the best class I’ve ever spent money on.”

It takes more than three hours to complete the pour, which is interrupted by the contents of the furnace dropping out of the bottom and a rush of volunteers with buckets of water and a running hose.

“Casting iron is a really great way to get people involved in art, particularly with sculpture,” Sanerib said. “It’s like the fireworks of art.”

Once the area is deemed safe to abandon, there is a round of applause and the crew heads to the Brass Rail for some burgers and beer.

Afterwards, the crowd returns to the studio where everyone breaks their molds.

Lind is planning to host another iron pour during late spring.

The pour is open to all students of the UW systems and members of the surrounding community. For non-students, there will be a fee of $30 that will go directly to the sculpting lab for incidentals.

To see pictures of the event visit: Royalpurplenews.com.