Pour Decisions: Foundry Fundamentals & Practice
with Lloyd Mandelbaum
$250 Lab Fee | August 9 - 22 | Skill-building
This course introduces the fundamentals of metal casting through hands-on exploration of bronze, aluminum, and iron. Students will learn the professional techniques used by art casters to mold, pour, and finish their own sculptural works while emphasizing accessibility and a DIY approach. Through this process, participants will gain a deep understanding of how raw materials, heat, and form intersect in the transformation of metal. Historical and contemporary figures such as Deborah Butterfield, Hanna Jubran, and George Beasley will serve as case studies, offering insight into how artists have used casting to explore structure, gesture, and meaning. The class will also engage in shared readings and screenings, including Sand Molding Basics by Lloyd Mandelbaum and documentation of an academic iron pour filmed by the Chicago Crucible. Students will complete at least one finished cast object created from a two-part sand mold and cast in bronze or aluminum, with full attention to shaping, joining, refinement, and patination. The course covers a broad range of processes—multi-part mold making, crucible and cupola furnace operation, and metal finishing—equipping students with the technical and creative tools to bring new dimension to their sculptural practice.
This course is available for non-credit only.
Lloyd Mandelbaum (he/him) is a metal sculptor and the founder of Chicago Crucible, an art casting foundry started in Chicago in 2009, with its chief production facility now located in Hamilton, MI. Mandelbaum utilizes a variety of molding and casting methods to produce both his own work and that of artists from across the country and internationally. His focus is on cast bronze, aluminum, and iron, integrating traditional analog and contemporary digital methods to keep pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved in the art casting arena. He also designs, builds, and markets foundry equipment for other foundries and artists. Mandelbaum received his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2008 and worked with a variety of foundries and artists in the Chicago region before going on to found his own business. He has also taught at various universities, schools, and conferences, as well as conducted workshops centered on building and assisting in the operation of foundries for artists in the US and Mexico.