Three things

[JAZ]

1. George Beasley was at Mass. College of Art to help students build blast furnaces. Friday night (May 6), there was an iron pour called River of Iron. The students and he had built twin blast furnaces out in the courtyard. A U-shaped trough swooped between them. The idea was to have the molten iron flow form both furnaces down the trough.
It was drizzly and very windy, making the smoke billow and the showers of sparks rain everywhere. Lots of fire shooting through the open tops of the furnaces. In the end, the iron wasn't quite as hot as anticipated, but when the wood of the trough burned away, there was an organic arc of iron.

2. An interesting technique: Go to www.massart.edu/ironguild, go to Links and click on Veronque d'Entremont. She made wooden molds, then poured her molten iron into them. The wood burns, making the iron take on delicate and unpredictable shapes.

3. Intriguing use of technology: The Decordova Museum and Sculpture Park has a new sculpture "Putti 4" by Michael Rees that looks exactly like rusted cast steel, but it's fiberglass. It's about eight feet tall (?) Rees made a digital model of the shape, which has four chubby (cherubic) feet and two chubby hands attached to one trunk. It is like a singular version of the double one of his on the cover of the September, 2004 Issue of Sculpture Magazine. He then passed the model on to an animator who made it move and crawl and do somersaults. (The animation was on view also.) Rees then selcted on of the positions from the animation and the digital file for that "frame" was sent to a CNC machine for rapid prototyping. It carved the form from a foam block. The block was coated with fiberglass, then "painted" with a mixture of metal filings and a binder. When it arrived at the DeCordova two weeks ago, it hadn't rusted yet, but it has rained since and now it has a nice oxydized coating. The result looks exactly like cast steel, but with a fraction of the weight and it came about as the result of a more fluid process than a cast metal one would have required. The article describes the technique in greater detail.
Friday night was the opening reception for the DeCordova's annual show. Always interesting.
JAZ

[philpraxis]

2. An interesting technique: Go to www.massart.edu/ironguild, go to Links and click on Veronque d'Entremont. She made wooden molds, then poured her molten iron into them. The wood burns, making the iron take on delicate and unpredictable shapes.

3. Intriguing use of technology: The Decordova Museum and Sculpture Park has a new sculpture "Putti 4" by Michael Rees that looks exactly like rusted cast steel, but it's fiberglass. It's about eight feet tall (?) Rees made a digital model of the shape, which has four chubby (cherubic) feet and two chubby hands attached to one trunk. It is like a singular version of the double one of his on the cover of the September, 2004 Issue of Sculpture Magazine. He then passed the model on to an animator who made it move and crawl and do somersaults. (The animation was on view also.) Rees then selcted on of the positions from the animation and the digital file for that "frame" was sent to a CNC machine for rapid prototyping. It carved the form from a foam block. ...
JAZ

Very nice sculptures from Veronique, being more into clay, ceramic and wood and cement, the iron is fascinating to me.

Just a question about this "CNC machine". Can you tell us more?
Thanks

[iron ant]

Is Beasly still teaching at Georgia State?Although My backround is in foundry work,I never poured Iron,sounds very exciting.I almost went to Graduate school at State,but I went to work full time for Caroline Montague,Atlanta's most sucessful sculptor at the time instead.

[fritchie]

Michael Rees is following only one of the paths opened over the last decade or two by computer technology, and this is the sort of work I said in another thread a short while ago might displace current methodology in both figuration and nonfiguration.

Not the subject matter specifically, but the working methodology. Just imagine, with this specific description, how flexible this technology is, and how cheap in comparison with what most of us do today. Lasting quality and esthetics remain to be tested.

[JAZ]

Very nice sculptures from Veronique, being more into clay, ceramic and wood and cement, the iron is fascinating to me.

Just a question about this "CNC machine". Can you tell us more?
Thanks
I have not used one myself, but have seen one and the ISC Fall Symposium, in New Orleans this past October, which I attended, had a panel discussion by four knowledgable artists on this topic. Also, If you get Sculpture Magazine, read the article in the September issue on Michael Rees and the one on Jon Isherwood in the same issue. If you go to our New Technologies page you will see at least two threads about Rapid Prototyping. Here's one item I posted there :

www.bathsheba.com
- exhibitions
- International Rapid Prototyping Exhibition
- (You'll see two of the presenters from the ISC Fall Symposium), go to George W. Hart. He has a clearly explained discussion on his rapid prototyping section.

I hope that helps.
JAZ

[JAZ]

Is Beasly still teaching at Georgia State?Although My backround is in foundry work,I never poured Iron,sounds very exciting.I almost went to Graduate school at State,but I went to work full time for Caroline Montague,Atlanta's most sucessful sculptor at the time instead.

Yes he does. There's an article on him in the May issue of Sculpture. There is a 45-year retrospective of his stuff at the Oakland Museum in California from April 16- July 31. I sure wish I could go.

How was working for Caoline Montague? What kind of work did you do for her?

JAZ

[iron ant]

Jaz,

Working with Caroline right out of art school,between 86 to 88, was unreal.I passesd up a scholership to Washington U in St. Louis to work for her.I was introduced to stainless fabrication with her.She had a DR degree in Art and was very talented. Another artist and I did all her fabrication ,and she did the design and painting.She could tig weld as good as anybody I ever saw.We would build these forms and she would layer them with about twenty coats of emron paint.Then she would run a 9" 120 grit sander across them showing the layers of paint and metal.We would clearcoat them and they were unreal.I will try to scan the sculpture we did for Seimens electronic headquarters.Caroline also introduced me to dealing with Galleries and designers.She was represented by Fay Gold Gallery,the premier gallery in the SE,and it got my foot in the door.She represented very few local artist,and I was reptresented by her in the 90,s before I went independent.Basically I got a "real life MFA" without being in college another three years.
Also Are you shure that is the same George Beasly that has taught at Georgia State for years.If it is I am totally blown away by his work to boot.Puts us twenty years in the hole artist right back on the ground. Eric

[sculptorsam]

I think there might be a confusion of Beasleys here. I'm not familiar with George Beasley, but Bruce Beasley < http://www.brucebeasley.com/home.htm > is the sculptor currently having the 45 year retrospective. I'd love to go as well.

Yeah, post the pic if you can find it, Eric.

[jsimms]

Again, Jaz has brought a great site to our attention.

Makes me want to know more about the inner view of Veronique's plywood forms. Anybody know?
john

[iron ant]

Sculptorsam,I was wondering,but you never know.George has been around awhile and he was doing big commissions when I came on the scene,just been awhile.The California connection did throw me for a loop though.I will dig through my zillion pictures and I will get one of Caroline Montague posted,she deservises it.The funny thing is she really would be shy about the attention,cause she is very humble.I bought all her stainless ten years ago and I am still using it,I will see if I can find out what she is doing these days.Eric

[JAZ]

Wow. You are right. Two Beasleys. My mistake. George was at Mass Art and here's one site that describes his work with melting iron http://www.ssw.org.uk/folk/Beasley/Beasley_-_Ladylea_Furnace_Even/beasley_-_ladylea_furnace_even.html
My contact at Mass Art said that George teaches in Georgia. (At least I think that's right. Or am I going crazy?)
Bruce Beasley is the one who was at the Symposium and written about in Sculpture.
Sorry for the misinformation. I'll try to be more careful in the future.
JAZ

I think there might be a confusion of Beasleys here. I'm not familiar with George Beasley, but Bruce Beasley < http://www.brucebeasley.com/home.htm > is the sculptor currently having the 45 year retrospective. I'd love to go as well.

Yeah, post the pic if you can find it, Eric.

[fused]

I bet people confuse these Beasley guys all the time, after all, they both have foundry backgrounds. George (http://www.ssw.org.uk/folk/Beasley/Beasley_-_Ladylea_Furnace_Even/beasley_-_ladylea_furnace_even.html) came out of Cranbrook and continuously pours iron all over the country, while Bruce (http://www.brucebeasley.com/home.htm) did UC Berkley and juggles a wide range of large sculptural media.

Caroline Montague (http://www.sweetearthpottery.com/artist-statement.html) is enjoying the nature and rural life of Georgia now.

[iron ant]

Fused,

Thanks for posting Caroline's site,I have been out of town and I never had a chance to track it down.I believe she is enjoying nature,and making art,which seems to be a wonderful combination for the artist that do not live and work in the urban"wharehouse" areas.Do you know Caroline,or have you showed with her before? IA

[veronique]

Again, Jaz has brought a great site to our attention.

Makes me want to know more about the inner view of Veronique's plywood forms. Anybody know?
john



the internal structure of the plywood forms consists of either solid pine or in most cases an internal form constructed of 3/4 inch plywood. The iron flows between the interior form and the exterior, and freezes up before/while the plywood burns away.


I will have new work on my website soon, and thanks for checking it out!

also, the Iron Guild has a few iron pours planned for this summer and fall, and anyone who is in the area should check them out:

We will be having our second annual Fathers Day Iron Pour at Saugus Ironworks National Historical Site on Sunday, June 19th at 1pm (saugus, MA). Our pour last year was the first time iron had been poured there in over 300 years.

This pour will be more of a demonstrational pour and not so much a performance pour, but definatley check out our website for the dates and locations of our upcoming pours. we are planning pours in Vermont and rhode island that will feature more fire art as well.



-véronique

[fused]

Wish I was going to be there (http://www.nps.gov/sair/pphtml/eventdetail18032.html).

[cameron_beasley]

Hi Everyone,
Yes, dad is still teaching at Georgia State Univeristy.
He and mom spend their summers in Scotland at the Scottish Sculpture Workshop.

One of dad's former students is in Boston (this is in regards to the Mass Art postings..)...his name is James Hull: http://www.greenstreetgallery.org/

James (Jimmy) and Donna are doing great- just saw them Sunday in Boston.

Cameron

G. Cameron Beasley, AIA, LEED AP
Perkins+Will
1382 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30309
t: 404.443.7661 f: 404.892.5843 www.perkinswill.com