Community Collaboration - Zumbrota Area Arts Council Iron Pour 2012

An Iron Pour is a unique opportunity for the entire community to learn about the ancient art of metal casting. As an art form, metal casting is less accessible to the average citizen than the mediums of painting or clay sculpting, for example. It is even rarer for small communities to be invited to participate in the experience. The Zumbrota Area Arts Council hosted an Iron Pour on Saturday, September 29th on the street outside the ZAAC State Theater and Crossings at Carnegie. A team of metal artists, known as Iron Head Sculptural, brought all the equipment for an outdoor foundry. They set up a furnace that heats iron chips to 2700 degrees, releases the molten iron from the furnace into buckets, carry the buckets on long poles and pour the iron into molds. After cooling, the sand molds are broken and the result is a personally designed cast iron tile. The community participated in many ways. They were invited to create the molds for the casting. The foundry artists provided three free workshops over the course of four months, teaching about the iron pour process and allowing people to learn techniques and tools for designing the mold. The community volunteers arrived early on pour day to break iron into chips sized for the portable furnace. There was plenty of room for hundreds to observe the activities. At the climax of the event, the team even allowed participants to gear up and help carry the buckets of molten metal to the molds. High school art students had a special unit on metal sculpture and were given tiles to design. The art instructor encouraged all students to attend the event. The Zumbrota library collaborated with ZAAC to create an educational display about iron casting through the ages, and included books on the topic. It was housed at the library and displayed at the iron pour event. Iron Works, a local metal casting and forging company, provided forging demonstrations in the late afternoon between furnace firing and iron pouring. Savage Aural Hotbed performed from 7-9 pm, providing industrial-style music that enhances the effect of the heat, flames, and sparks of the iron pour. This unique band plays “found-object instruments” that create some amazing sounds. They take items like barrels or auto parts and create instruments out of them.