Grinding Away

Here are some images of raw castings, one shows the works with the gates and vents still on one of the pieces and the others show the gates cut off and some grinding done on the surface.

There is still lots to do with getting the surfaces cleaned up and then giving them the rusty patina I like so much. I also have another one from a prior pour I still have to do.

It's pretty nasty, dirty work, but they won't grind them selves, so I've got to do it. There is a lot of satisfaction once they are done.

These "homes" are part of a larger installation called Homes for Everyone. I have about 15 already complete and they are made out of all kinds of materials; clay, iron, steel and wood. They are also all different sizes and colors. This variety is an important factor that for me as it echos our ethnic mixture in this country. For me it's all about the housing crisis and how so many different people have been effected. I actually came close to losing my home this summer, it was a shocking realization. I truly believe that all people deserve a safe place to live and this art work will be just a small token to express my feelings on that.

Pour Iron!

Some images from pouring iron.

It was an exciting day and lots of hard work. Never mind the many weeks of preparation leading up to it. In the end the day went well. No major mishaps or injuries. We had some cold metal which caused a few molds not to pour properly but that's part of the precess and the possibility of something not coming out is always a reality to deal with.

My molds came out great. I am so happy. After the pour all of us celebrated by going to La Fiesta Brava; one of my favorite Mexican restaurants. Boy we had fun, way too much fun for some! But it was all worth the headache the next day!

In a few days I will get to cut off the gates and vents and clean up my castings up to get some images. Right now I am real busy with end of the semester stuff; we are done in less than three weeks! I still can't believe it!

New Work and A Crazy Week Ahead

Lord I have so many pieces of work that I need to photograph and get onto my web page. The effort is non-stop! Here are some images from some recent work, now finished and painted. I lost the color of the green copper, it didn't really go with the red paint. I did like the natural wood, and green copper color, but it was not in the plan for this group. No worries, I will just make some more! More images of the works can be seen on my official web page, www.jentorres.com in the portfolio sction.

At the end of this week we will be doing the big iron pour. It will be an exhausting week but worth it in the end. By Thursday many friends will have arrived and we will spend the next few days setting up for the pour by day and being bad by night. Just as long as I get my long run in Wednesday morning, I'll be OK by that! More images soon!

Fuel for the Fire

Images from ABC Coke in Birmingham AL.

Right now we are heavy into preparations for our annual iron pour. Yesterday James and I headed east for the 3.5 hour ride to Birmingham to stock up on much needed raw materials. Our first stop was to ABC Coke. For years they have generously donated the coke (refined coal) that we use to fuel our blast furnace to melt iron for making art castings. We'll typically get between 4 and 6 thousand pounds per trip. Sounds like a lot but considering that ABC usually sells coke by the rail road car, what we get are just crumbs to them. We also made a stop a Specialty Foundry Supply to get some other supplies and then it was back home. A 12 hour day in the truck, thank God I had my good buddy James with me and a Ipod full of exceptional Jazz.

New Art Blog!

I decided after much thought it was time to separate my running blog from my sculpture blog. There really are too many things to talk about in each and for the most part the audience is different. Of course I will have some info on both my blogs about stuff I am doing in general so folks will know what I am up to.

I will post some images soon from my trip to Birmingham.

Cheers!