Flame Skimmer

Flame Skimmer
aluminum, steel, acrylic
South Education Center, Richfield, MN
2017

Participant artists from South Education Center (an alternative education high-school program for students, ages 12 through 21, and babies of enrolled students) collaborated in a cast metal sculpture residency to create this space craft sculpture that is installed on the walking path at their school. The residency offered hands-on experiences with the process of creating cast metal art at their school with the portable sculpture foundry.

Learners pressed personal and found objects, sculpted with tools and stamped letters into clay to create their piece of the space craft. Learners envisioned themselves as space travelers and shared ideas about space exploration and interstellar communication to create the imagery, textures and words. What do you want to share about yourself or your life on Earth? What would you bring with you into space?

After clay work, learners built wood flasks and mixed sand to create molds for their sculptures. When hardened, they used tools to remove their clay pieces and objects from the mold to discover the negative space created in the sand where their sculptures were.

Learners watched as metal filled their molds and broke it out of the mold to hold it after it cooled. When looking at his personal cast artwork, one learner stated that it felt like his message, now solidified into metal was sent into space.

The sculpture is located outside on the walking path around the school. The spaceship has a handle that when pulled, lowers the space traveler down for landing and when pushed up, it goes back up into the space craft for travel.

Acknowledgement
Thank you to South Education Center participating artists/staff and Karen Bendtson/DCD Instructor and primary residency facilitator.