Create Art from Molten Metal: Southern Miss Sculpture to Host Annual Interactive Iron Pour

Wed, 11/13/2024 - 09:51am | By: Caroline Abney

The cast iron furnaces are heating up at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) as the Sculpture program, housed in the School of Performing and Visual Arts, prepares to host its Annual Iron Pour. This interactive event will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16, in the 3D Arts building on the Hattiesburg campus. Preceding the Iron Pour, widely celebrated visiting artist Hugh Patton will deliver a lecture on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 5:30 p.m., offering audiences a glimpse into the thrilling world of metal sculpting. Admission is free for both events and open to the public. 

This marks the 21st consecutive pour by Sculpture professor and event organizer, Jennifer Torres, who is looking forward to making art accessible to the Hattiesburg community and beyond. 

“Always a big hit, many folks from around Hattiesburg, local schools, and students from other states come to make art, hear lectures, and work with visiting artists like Hugh Patton,” said Torres. 

Patton is firmly established in the cast-iron art community as the Artist-in-Residence at Sloss Metal Arts in Birmingham, where he works within themes of labor, process, and the intersection between industry and nature. The deliberate and intuitive quality of Patton’s art is sure to soak into audiences as they rub elbows with one of the South’s preeminent sculpture artists.

When describing the process in creating his works, Patton says, “I need to spend time with a place, get to know it, study it, work within it, soak it in, revere it. Let it fill me up and then filter its contents through my own.”

Participants will have the opportunity to carve their own designs and create a personal cast-iron piece to take home. Scratch blocks will be available for purchase at 10 a.m.; the molten metal will be ready to transform the art into masterpieces around noon. The cost is $15.

Don’t miss these unique experiences, which merge art and community to create personal and lasting memories. The events are made possible thanks to the generous support of Partners for the Arts.