The OU School of Art & Art History invites you to the 7^th annual Fuego Friday Iron Pour on Friday, Oct. 26 from 7-10 pm at the OU School of Art & Art History’s Ceramics Facility. This event is sponsored by the OU Sculpture program and is free and open to the public.

 

“Fuego Friday is a once a year experience where the sculpture department, as well as the rest of the school of art, can show to the public the process of making art, and how exciting it can be!” said Laura Reese, OU School of Art & Art History senior and president of the OU Print Club.

 

Each year the sculpture program at OU presents the Fuego Friday Iron Pour as an instructional event for its students on casting metal. Approximately thirty students from the OSU sculpture program and the ECU art department will also be assisting. This year, the proceeds raised will sendeight School of Art & Art History students to the International Sculpture Center Conference in Chicago.

Visitors will be able to watch students run a furnace, which will reach internal temperatures of 3200 F. Students will then extract approximately 100 lbs. increments of molten iron to cast “scratch blocks” or plaque molds created by donors and students. The iron is generally 2300-2500 F when the molds are poured. This process is very similar to large iron processing, but on a very small scale using coke, a refined coal product, and forced air. “We look at this as an opportunity for the community to be engaged with a unique and special process that is very rare these days,” said OU sculpture professor Jonathan Hils, “this is also an important exercise in teamwork for our students. Operating an iron furnace takes several people to work as a team. Students learn how to rely on each other and usually find that they can do extraordinary things together.”

Three student organizations, the Red Clay Faction, the New Media Collective, and the Print Club, will also participate in this year’s event. The Red Clay Faction will present two ceramic firing demonstrations in conjunction with the iron pour, the New Media Collective will install an interactive soundscape on site, and the Print Club will be printing and selling t-shirts to raise funds, which will help bring visiting artists to the School of Art & Art History.

Individuals who wish to make a unique 5”x5” mold to be cast by OU students need get a mold from the department before October 22nd. Molds are available while supplies last for $20 each and can be purchased by contacting Professor Hils at hils@ou.edu or calling 325-3217.

The University of Oklahoma School of Art and Art History’s Ceramics Facility is located on the corner of Congress and Preble in Norman. For more information on the University of Oklahoma School of Art & Art History please visit art.ou.edu. For directions or special accommodations please call 405.325.2691 or email art@ou.edu.