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AFS Student Chapter Hosts Annual Symposium |
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On March 22, the Annual Spring Desert Iron Symposium was held in Tempe, Arizona. Hosted by the Arizona State Univ. (ASU) Student Chapter of the American Foundry Society (AFS) and Fahrenheit 2150, the event nicknamed "Iron Peep" attracted more than 50 regional and national artists from ASU, Scottsdale Community College (SCC) and Northern Arizona Univ. (NAU). The event provided an opportunity for the artists to express themselves not with a paint brush and a palette, but with a cupola furnace and molten metal.
To produce the cast art, 2000 lbs. of iron was poured into more than 100 molds, including both ceramic shell and bonded sand. To melt the ferrous alloy, a continuous flow cupola furnace designed by Ted Uran, Prof. of Art and Dept. Chair at SCC, was used. The event began at 8 am with registration, preparation of the cupola and the inspection and organization of molds on the pouring floor. Iron was up at 12:30 pm and continued to flow until 2:45 pm when all molds were filled.
The symposium was organized by ASU Faculty Assoc. Mary Meyer and ASU Graduate Student Ryan Lamfers, who collectively instruct the Foundry class. Mary Neubauer, ASU Prof. of Art and head of the Foundry Program, directed the pouring of the molds. The guest artist for the event was Kevin Shunn, Assoc. Prof. of Sculpture and Art Dept. Chair at West Georgia Univ. (WGU), Carrollton, GA.
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