The university’s School of Art and Design is offering a unique option for Valentine’s Day gifts: metal plate sculpting.

On Saturday, the sculpture department is offering the public a chance to get in on poured-sculpture art creation at the Spring Iron Pour from noon to 6 p.m. The event takes place at the SIU Foundry on West Pleasant Hill Road across from Evergreen Terrace Apartments.

The SIU school of art and design department is selling scratch blocks for $7 and $15. The small, wood-framed blocks, patterned as hearts, squares and ovals, are used to create a personalized metal plate.

Jamie Lovell, a research assistant for the department, said members of the community are encouraged to come out to see what the art and design department has to offer.

“We have the capability to pour metal at any time, but the iron pour is a big event because there is a lot more work that goes into it,” Lovell said.

Lovell said this semester there is a demand for about 1600 pounds of iron, which means the iron event will be pouring all day.

“We have to get the metal to a much higher temperature than our furnaces can handle, so we fire up a couple outside that we fill with iron, coke, and marble charges,” Lovell said.

Sculpture students and faculty will heat and pour the iron into prepared molds by bringing it to the melting point of 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit. 

“We are one of the few facilities in the area that has the means to pour iron, which is a unique experience for students,” Lovell said.

Staff writer Tyra Wooten can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @twootenDE.

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