February 06, 2017

Public can create art at spring iron pour

by Andrea Hahn

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- A Valentine’s Day greeting in iron -- now that’s making a statement! 

The Southern Illinois University Carbondale School of Art and Design sculpture department is offering the public a chance to get in on poured-sculpture art creation at the spring iron pour, set for Feb. 11, from noon to 6 p.m. The event takes place at the SIU Foundry on West Pleasant Hill Road across from Evergreen Terrace Apartments.


Media Advisory

This event provides some good visuals during the metal pouring and preparation. Students and faculty are on hand for interview possibilities. Photographers, camera crews and reporters are welcome to attend and document the iron pour.


The department will sell scratch blocks with patterns including hearts, squares and ovals. A scratch block is a small, wood-framed box used to create a metal plate. The plates can be decorated or personalized pre-pour. The end result is a metal plate with a raised design. Scratch boxes cost $7-$15. 

Besides the chance to make art, the iron pour is a dramatic event, with iron being heated to the melting point -- that is, about 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit. Sculpture students and faculty heat the metal and then pour it into prepared molds for sculpture. The scratch boxes are part of the pour. 

For more information, contact Jam Lovell, School of Art and Design research assistant, at jclovell@siu.edu.