IRON
On a cold November evening in 2018, I watched a portable iron foundry
come to life for the first time on the industrial waterfront of Kearny
Point, New Jersey. As a complete outsider to this process, I was
instantly taken by the energy and ritualistic rhythm of an iron pour. What started
with hours of organizing materials, labeling molds, heating the foundry
up to a molten temperature, and donning leathers and facial protection,
soon became the organized chaos of teams of college students,
professors, and artists attempting to harness the power of fire, working
in unison to carry and angle the crucible in just the right way to
pour into the small opening of their molds.
Foundries are not for the faint of heart, or the slow of reflex; one must be prepared to have a direct order shouted at them (with no hard feelings intended), or jump out of the way of an errant ember. But they are also a place of intense creative magic, where communication and collaboration are key. Needless to say, I’m hooked - and intensely grateful for the experience.
This is an ongoing series featuring the talents of the sculpture classes of Lori Merhige and Brent Howard of Ramapo State University and Yale University, respectively, plus the mind-blowing molten iron painting of Michael Dominick, and the fearless leadership of Gardenship Executive Director Joshua Knoblick.
This is an ongoing series featuring the talents of the sculpture classes of Lori Merhige and Brent Howard of Ramapo State University and Yale University, respectively, plus the mind-blowing molten iron painting of Michael Dominick, and the fearless leadership of Gardenship Executive Director Joshua Knoblick.