Back by Popular Demand: Iron Pour at CAM

Metal Sculpting Artist, Teresa Lind (second from left), will conduct her second Iron Pour at the Cedarburg Art Museum on September 10th.

Lind and company pours molten metal into sand casts at the 2015 Iron Pour at CAM

Wisconsin artist, educator,  and nationally recognized sculptor, Teresa Lind, was "smitten" the very first time she saw an iron pour. While the roots of iron casting are in industrial design, Julius Schmidt, a 20th century artist who mainly worked in bronze, was the first sculptor to utilize industrial iron casting on a small scale for sculptures, with an intent to capture the "machine age" through his work.

Lind, who lectures on sculpture at UW Whitewater, has been conducting iron pours throughout Wisconsin for the past seven years.  Her event at the Cedarburg Art Museum on September 10th will be a repeat of last year's very popular event at the same location.

Participants will be able to create their own design in a sand cast; then, Lind and her crew will pour the molten hot iron into the casts to create the metal sculptures, which participants will be able to take home with them.  While the event is family friendly, Lind says that participants must watch the pour at their own risk.  "Sometimes stray sparks fly outside of the pouring area. My aunt came to the recent Waupaca pour and told me I burned a little hole in her pants!"

The purpose of the workshops is more than making art, Lind explains.  "It's really about educating people about how things get cast into metal. We are trying to demystify the process for everyone, and honor our brothers and sisters who work very hard in foundries to bring us all the cast metal products that we interact with on a daily basis: bathtubs, engines, manhole covers, skillets, etc. We are just making it a fun afternoon activity that anyone can participate in. It's really cool to watch, and you get to take home a cast iron piece that you created that day!"

The event, which runs from 1-6 p.m. on September 10th, will feature food from the Anvil Pub & Grill, as well as live music from 3-5 p.m.  The cost to participate is only $25/person.  To register, click here, or go to the Cedarburg Art Museum website: ​http://www.cedarburgartmuseum.org, or call 262-377-6123 or email ​[email protected] for more information.  The Cedarburg Art Museum is located at W63 N675 Washington Avenue.

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