AFS student chapter hosts annual art symposium.

On March 22, the Annual Spring Desert Iron Symposium was held in Tempe, Ariz. 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.

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To produce the cast art, students poured 2,000 lbs. of iron into more than 100 molds, including both ceramic shell and bonded sand. A continuous-flow cupola furnace designed by Ted Uran, professor of art and department chair at SCC, was used to melt the ferrous alloy. The event began at 8 a.m. with registration, preparation of the cupola and the inspection and organization of molds on the pouring floor. Iron was up at 12:30 p.m. and continued to flow until 2:45 p.m., when all molds were filled.

The symposium was organized by ASU faculty associate Mary Meyer and ASU graduate student Ryan Lamfers, who collectively instructed the metalcasting class. Mary Neubauer, ASU professor of art and head of the metalcasting program, directed the pouring of the molds. The guest artist for the event was Kevin Shunn, associate professor of sculpture and art department chair at West Georgia Univ. (WGU), Carrollton, Ga.

"The ASU [metalcasting] students and faculty would like to thank everyone that participated in the iron pour," Meyer said. "Especially Kevin Shunn (WGU), Ted Uran (SCC), Brian Painter (NAU), Nan Vaughn (ASU), Dustin Hesser (ASU) and Arizona Bronze Atelier, Tempe, Ariz."