Iron to art

By Kim McDarison 

Some 20 people gathered Saturday at the Wisconsin Makers building in Whitewater to watch an annual event: a team of iron workers clad in protective clothing and face shields turning iron into art. 

The event, known to its regular participants as “the iron pour,” is in its sixth year at the Wisconsin Makers building and in its second as a memorial to the late Pete Spangler, a former Fort Atkinson resident and a founding member of the nonprofit makers group in Whitewater. 

Al Jewer, president of Wisconsin Makers, Inc., said the day began Saturday morning as pour participants arrived to purchase and make scratch block molds. The sand-based 5- by 5-inch blocks are soft enough to received a hand-scratched design, but strong enough to contain molten iron until it solidifies into a tile. The blocks are next broken apart and the tile is set aside to cool. The process completes when a member of the pour team smooths away rough edges with a wire brush and presents the tile to its artist. 

On Saturday, the pour team estimated it filled with iron some 25 scratch blocks and six molds brought by members of the team. 

Led by University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Art Department metal studio instructor and co-owner of Wisconsin-based Cowyard Studio Teresa “Tree” Lind, this year’s five-member team was composed of Mary Abbott, a volunteer agent who serves in the sculpture studio at UW-Whitewater, alumnae Taylor McDarison and Bee Krueger, and Gregory Brulla, a seasoned pour team member and friend of Lind’s. All of the members of this year’s pour crew have assembled as team members at previously held Whitewater pours. 

As the team worked to transport molten iron from the furnace to the molds, eager artists and spectators photographed the process and enjoyed brats and snacks which were made available for purchase by the makers group. 

Jewer explained that proceeds from the event would be used to fund the group’s ongoing projects, such as a free art class offered each Thursday to members of the community. 

The group also is actively seeking new members, he said. Those who join the Wisconsin Makers group have access to the building’s full array of shops and equipment, ranging from woodworking, to weaving, to 3D printing, Jewer said. 

During the event, Lind shared with the assembled group some information about the iron pouring process. Lind noted that “Dorito-sized” pieces of iron are loaded into a specialized furnace called a cupola. When loading the cupola, she said, the ideal recipe is about 20 pounds of iron layered with three pounds of coke, a specialized porous coal-based compound with a high carbon content and few impurities. The material is used to help the cupola burn at a high temperature without transferring impurities into the molten iron. 

When ready, the molten iron is transported by a two-man team using a device called a crucible. Iron that is poured into molds is kept free of slag by a third crew member using a device called a skimmer. Slag is a term for impurities created by iron, coke and fluxing agents that pool on top of the molten iron. 

This year, Jewer said, he was impressed by the designs artists scratched into their blocks, with some, including his son, Willy, experimenting with laser engraving tools.  

One artist made his design using a CNC or computer numerical controlled router, he said. 

Pour participants crafted a broad array of designs. Isabella Valdez, a college student from Albuquerque, N. Mex., said her design included a “schwa” which, she said, is the phoneme for the letter “A.” She arrived at the pour with Madison resident Kyle Mayer. He made a spider, he said. 

Beloit resident and the director of Studio 84 in Whitewater Ben Kelly said he made a design that incorporated the initial of his last name with the year in which he purchased his home. 

Another artist, Bill Brulla, said he did not make a tile. He is a participant in the Thursday art class offered at the makers building, he said, adding that he came to see what the pour was all about and work on his drawing skills. 

After watching the team work, Brulla said it was “amazing to think about what they are doing. It’s a technique that people used to do, but you don’t hear about it anymore.” 

Jewer said discovery, curiosity and experimentation is what the Wisconsin Makers group is all about. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown the group lost a lot of its members, he said. Since then, membership has begun to rebound. The building also has been reconfigured to engage makers with multiple inviting and well-equipped work spaces. 

Jewer said that while the annual iron pour had over the years become a treasured tradition, with Spangler’s passing, it has gained a deeper significance. 

“It was Pete’s favorite event,” he said, adding that last year, when he died, “he just barely missed that one. He would have been thrilled to know that it has continued on and is gaining strength,” he said  

An earlier story about Wisconsin Makers, Inc., Spangler’s contributions to the nonprofit organization and the annual iron pour is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/pouring-iron-whitewaters-wisconsin-makers-group-to-host-tile-making-event/. 

Photos from the event follow.