THE SLOSS 2009 IRON POUR

 
A Reaction Mold is, from what I could gather, a mold that consists of more than just sandstone and wire. Artists use glass, wood, and other things inside their molds in order to get a reaction from the hot iron being introduced to the objects. The results are amazingly dangerous and required a higher-level of protective gear.

 

"This fun for you, Little Brother?"

"Eeeeeyup!"

 
Here is an example of the protective gear they wear when reaction molds are involved...

 
And here is WHY they wear that gear. I swear to you that this photo was not altered in any way, shape or form:

 
Carl finished off the pour by supplying his very own reaction mold. It was a large flat square object, about 5 feet by 5 feet: two partical boards sandwiching some objects inside of it. On top he drilled holes for the iron and left exhaust ports made of flower pots. It had to be buried under gravel to avoid the explosive reaction it was going to get.

 

This is what happens when you dump hundreds of pounds of heated iron into a square sandwich of wood, and this is what you get when you leave holes in the wood for exhaust...

 

 
And this is what a very happy metal sculpture professor looks like when everything goes more or less according to plan:

Yes. That is an adult male dancing on and through his sculpture as it sears and burns its' way through its' wooden underground prison...
 

An hour later the thing is still burning...
 

The result. "I am happy with the texture but disappointed that the full frame around the top didn't work out. Oh well!"

Carl is fucking awesome.

This was taken Sunday morning. There was no way it'd be uncoverable the evening it was poured.
 

The next day, Fe Faru is hoisted up onto Carl's trailer and dragged back to USC.
 

 

And this is probably one of my favorite photos of the event; because what you are seeing is the face of a man who is thrilled with how it all turned out. Bad experience with the student and all, the conference was deemed a success and the majority of the participants were pleased with the results of the pour.

Personally, I was thrilled and amazed to see so many people who were so passionate about their craft- a craft that involves working with elemental concepts like fire, stone and metal, and getting results that consist of something hard, heavy and magnificent. You will have a hard time keeping me away from this conference when it comes around again in 2 years.