Cast iron workshops, Bullpen Foundry, Stanford in the Vale (From Herald Series)

Cast iron workshops, Bullpen Foundry, Stanford in the Vale

9:00am Wednesday 1st July 2009

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IN the 1800s, the iron casting industry was thriving in the Vale of White Horse.

However, the specialist craft of agricultural iron casting died out in this area, as it did throughout the country.

Butt over the past three years, artists at Stanford in the Vale have revived the craft by hosting metal casting sculpture courses at The Bullpen Foundry.

After being awarded substantial grant funding by Arts Council England, The Bullpen, off the Faringdon Road, is able to offer creative practitioners and visiting community groups the opportunity to make cast iron sculptures this summer.

A nine-day workshop is being run for artists, who will create sand moulds for their sculptures.

The Bullpen recycles scrap iron, including broken-up old farm machinery parts, fireplaces and baths.

It uses coke and forced air to fuel the furnace, which will then melt enough iron continuously to fill the artists' moulds.

Professor Daniel Hunt, from Kansas State University, will teach alongside Wesley Jacobs, director of The Bullpen Foundry.

Visitors will be invited to view the exhibition of cast iron sculptures in The Bullpen Gallery, to watch artists at work, to see the tools and equipment used in the foundry, and to take part in a taster workshop to create a cast iron tile, between July 20 and July 30.

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