2023 Art on Fire Pour Fest set for Saturday

WASILLA — The 2023 Art on Fire Pour Fest event takes place at the Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry from 12 to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 17.

The Valley Arts Alliance hosts this annual event which features a variety of live demonstrations for iron casting, blacksmithing, and other crafts that pass through the fiery flames of creation and artisanship.

“It will be a really good show,” VAA Executive Director Carmen Summerfield said.

This year’s Art on Fire event will feature numerous local and vising foundry specialists such as Arctic Fires Bronze owner Pat Garley, New Mexico-based college professor D’jean Jawrunner, and Texas-based commercial foundry owner Donnie Keen.

Visitors will have the opportunity to create their own small molds for unique iron plaques for $10. These small mold blanks are known as “Scratch Blocks” since they can be etched with designs that become unique keepsakes after being filled with molten iron.

Visitors will also have the chance to participate in other workshops such as Raku Pottery which differs from other forms of pottery. After a short firing, the red hot vessels are placed inside a metal can full of combustible materials, and the process that draws the oxygen out of the glaze is responsible for one-of-a-kind creations with that signature “Raku look.”

In addition to the flame-tempered art activities, this year’s event will also feature numerous other forms and even live music. Summerfield their main motivation is to bring artists together and celebrate the sheer variety of creativity with the community.

“For me, I like seeing all the different artists coming together," Summerfield said. “It's really an art happening… There's something there for everybody.”

This year’s event will be the 16th time VAA has hosted Art on Fire. It’s one of the local art group’s popular and longest-running community traditions along with their annual Wearable Art Show and Alaska Home Companion events.

“That's really cool," Summerfield said.

The Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry opens at 10 a.m. Saturday, so visitors can also come early to check out the various exhibits or simply browse through them throughout the day.

“The museum loves putting on these kinds of events,” Transportation Museum director James Grogan said. “We've got to keep the arts alive. We have to show people all the different aspects of the arts.”

For more information, visit valleyartsalliance.com.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com