Elise Balin – Staff Writer
On Saturday, sparks will quite literally fly in the University of Wyoming Visual Arts Building’s north parking lot as ironworkers go about their craft creating art by pouring and manipulating white hot liquid metal into a cast, in turn revealing amazing pieces of art.
Witnessing molten hot iron heated to 2,800 degrees as it is handled by artists simply defines the term adrenaline rush. As the iron transforms from a black solid element to white hot liquid metal, the audience feels the excitement and intensity for themselves as they are in the midst of witnessing an art form in the making. The molten metal is then poured into casts which then becomes refined by breaking and morphing the metal from the casts in order to produce beautiful pieces of work. The public is invited to enjoy this free event. Food trucks will gather in the parking lot selling a variety of foods for spectators to purchase and enjoy while watching the event. Bring a chair, a blanket and cash for the food trucks and casts and enjoy the festivities to the fullest.
This art form has been perfected and performed by metal workers for hundreds of years and has proven time and time again to be not just a stunning work of art but has practical uses as well. Metal tools created by the method of casting can be found all throughout a person’s daily life, such as in working parts on vehicles to metal tools and appliances used in kitchens. Spectating this process of creating objects out of liquid metal can be an amazing sight to see. This event has time and time again drawn a crowd and has been some of the public’s favorite presentations.
