The Columbus Area Arts Council invites you to their 3rd Annual Open Iron Pour on Friday, September 26.  The event will be held in Mill Race Park as part of the Driftwood Valley Music Festival.  The event is free and open to the public.

The process begins on Monday and Tuesday, September 22nd and 23rd.  Jim Brenner, the head of the iron pour crew, and the other 13 artists will arrive and begin preparing for the iron pour and the community workshops.  This preparation includes retrieving and breaking up 2000 pounds of casing iron, preparing the coke (refined coal), setting up the kiln, building the casting surface and setting up the workshop area.  The public is encouraged to observe and/or join in the set up.

The iron pour artists plan to conduct three community workshops at Mill Race Park, which will be open to the public. 

The community workshops take place on Wednesday, Sept. 24 and Thursday, Sept. 25 from 4 to 7pm. 

A final workshop will be held from 12 to 3pm on Friday, Sept. 26.  Prior to the workshops, the artists will have prepared 100 “scratch blocks” (about the size of a brick) for individuals to use to create a sculptural relief image. 

The scratch blocks are made of sand that is held together with resin and people can scratch or carve a design into the sand that will later be cast in iron.  Simple metal engraving tools will be provided.  There will be a charge to participants of $12 for each block.  Artists and volunteers will be on hand to assist the participants in each step of the process.

OnFriday, Sept. 26 at 5pm, the public is invited as the kiln is fired and the iron pour begins.  Every 20 minutes 100 pounds of molten metal is drained into ladles and fed into the tiles by Jim and other experienced foundry artists/technicians.  After the tiles are allowed to cool, the molds are broken and the final products (all original work by community participants) will be revealed.  Finally, the last pour of the evening will be a spectacular, large open iron pour demonstration after dark.  

Throughout the evening, local Americana musicians will perform including Liz (Bohall) and Company, Stella and Jane, Franny Hall and Deep Fryed Acoustiblaster.

For further information about the iron pour or the workshops, call 812.376.2539.