“Rivers of iron!” *
Canadian Society of Contemporary Iron Arts – CSCIA – is a non-profit collective/assembly of creatives promoting experimentation in contemporary iron arts. The purpose of the society is to promote the contemporary transformative processes in Canada through events and education. It aims to create opportunities to cast iron artworks and to meld historical industrial methods with modern artisanal processes, with a variety of mouldmaking and metal casting events for members and the greater public community.
Headquartered in Hamilton Ontario – an area long associated to metal works, and now a creative hub, CSCIA was born from long-time musing and materialized during the lull created by early pandemic restrictions. It connects to the networks of an international iron-casting artist community, active south of the border and in Europe through conferences and iron pour events.
The metal is sourced by recycling materials from demolitions and renovations, a re-use which lends special meaning to the process of making and artworks themselves.
Our iron furnace, Ruby, is a transportable cupolette furnace available and eager to demonstrate the almost alchemic transformation of discarded iron fixtures into molten glowing heat to sculptural and performance artworks which provoke and delight. Her next public performance is set for Saturday June 10 2023 at the Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology. Several mouldmaking opportunities – from simple open face “scratch mold” to traditional enclosed sand moulds - are leading up to this metal pour event. Check out the May 12 and June 9 Hamilton Artwalks for our table with scratch molds!
The first exhibition showcasing works by members of CSCIA, sampling diverse applications in the medium and material of iron casting will take place from June 14th to June 18th 2023 at the Paul Elia Gallery, and is pleased to be a Hamilton Arts Week signature event.
For more info, or to contact us, check out the CSCIA website
Some works by CSCIA members shown below.
* exclamation by Tom Doughty – founding member and fabricator – upon seeing molten iron flow out during Ruby’s inaugural melt in November 2021
