Festival of Fire
Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023 to Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023
About
Festival of Fire celebrates the transformative nature of fire. This annual collaborative event is a weekend exploration of the process, production, and performative aspects of making art with fire.
Join us for hands-on workshops, artist talks, demonstrations, performances, and exhibitions centered around fire arts. Come together to share techniques, ideas, and resources in iron casting, ceramic wood-fired kilns, glass blowing, blacksmithing, welding, and more.
Tours, open studios, and on-site concessions will complete the festival atmosphere and make it fun for the entire family.
Don’t miss the spectacle and wonder of the Festival of Fire!
Conference Registration
Registration includes primitive camping. Please plan to prepare your own food or choose from several food trucks available over the weekend. Workshops are an additional fee and separate registration.
Registration:
Thursday-Sunday, $125 per person
Friday-Sunday, $100 per person
Saturday-Sunday, $75 per person
Payment plans are available for individuals or groups who need an alternative method of payment.
Conference Schedule Google Doc
Link here
Virtual Veggie Furnace Demonstration with Steve Coles of Coles Casting!
Saturday, September 23rd
Starting 4 PM Eastern, 9 PM GMT
Join Here! Zoom Link
Cancelation Policy:
There is a 25% cancellation fee for all workshops and classes if requested with two weeks of prior notice. Deposits and payments are nonrefundable within two weeks of the scheduled date.
Pre-Conference Workshops
New this year, we will be offering mold-making workshops for participants to learn how to make molds for the production pour on Saturday, September 23, 2023.
Join us Friday, September 9th & Saturday, September 10th for a Two-Day Stacker Mold Making Workshop with Becca Flis!
Individuals or Groups can also schedule a one-on-one workshop with our shop.
More Mold Making Opportunities
Mold-Making Workshop
Individuals and groups with limited to no experience may schedule a one-on-one or group workshop to learn how to make a basic open-face or 2-part mold prior to the conference. Schedule varies.
$50/per hour + shop rental for one-on-one assistance OR
$250/per person (6-8 people)
Shop Rental for Sand-Mold Making
Artists who have experience with sand-mold making may rent SAW’s studio to make molds. The cut-off time for sand is Friday, September 22nd at 12pm noon est.
Studio Rental Fee:
$40 per day + $45 consumable fee.
Materials for Rental or Bring Your Own Mold
$15 per 50lb of sand
$2 per lb of iron
Conference Workshops
There are a variety of workshops available during the weekend of the Festival of Fire. Schedules for workshops vary, so please look carefully at the dates of your workshop prior to registering for the conference. This year SAW offers workshops in stacker sand mold making, welding, glass blowing, bladesmithing, and wood-fired ceramic kiln building! See all workshop options below.
3-Day Ceramic Kiln Building &
Firing Workshop
Teams (2-8 people) will build and fire a temporary mini wood-fired kiln in this four-day workshop! Pre-registration is required in order to participate. Each team will bring its own bisque ceramic work to be fired in the kiln they construct. Each team will have the same list of supplies and materials to be able to compare and contrast what is possible using the same resources. A list of the refractory materials and kiln wood provided to each team is listed below. Teams will need to design their kiln prior to arrival and in coordination with Jordan Becker, SAW Ceramics Director. Teams are encouraged to complete their designs far in advance. Should they need any support, Jordan is available anytime earlier in the summer to discuss and brainstorm kiln plans if teams so desire. Teams are encouraged to register before August to participate in a Zoom Meeting Jordan will host to brainstorm and discuss kiln designs as a group.
Details
Thursday, September 21 (Arrive between 1 pm to 7 pm) - Sunday, September 24 (Depart at 5 pm)
$695 per team (2 to 8 people)+ individual registration
$275.00 for an individual (will be paired with other individuals to work together remotely)
Refractory and Fuel Provided For Each Kiln Building Team
4’x8’ steel box full of sand
Tractor Buckets of sand to level pad, or build slope
150 - 2.5”x9”x4.5” hard brick
150 - 2.5”x9”x4.5” soft brick
3 - silicon carbide 12”x24” kilns shelves
2 - 12”x12” silicon carbide shelves and posts for interior stacking of work.
1 tub of fire clay mortar
Wadding for pottery in the kiln
Set of cones
1/4 cord of seasoned hard wood, split fine and 8-12 inches in length
1/4 cord of seasoned soft wood, split fine and 8-12 inches in length
4-Day LIGHTING THE BUBBLE GLASS WORKSHOP
This collaborative two day beginner glass-blowing workshop will culminate in a group installation focusing on "lighting the bubble." Participants will learn to gather glass and form it into bubbles. The bubbles variation through tool manipulation or augmentation will create lenses of different sorts. Instructor Marc Barreda will amass the student bubbles into a group installation and project light through them during the conference.
Details
Thursday, September 21 - Saturday, September 23
Workshop
Thursday & Friday, 10 am to 5 pm
Glass Installation
Saturday morning - Install
Saturday evening - Project light
3-Day High Carbon Steel Knife-Making WorkshoP
In this three-day workshop, ABS Mastersmith JD Smith will assist participants in the design, forging, and finishing of their own high-carbon steel knives.
Topics of discussion will include: What makes a knife a good one? How is the quality of a knife to be discerned? What makes one knife better than another?
Participants will have the opportunity to witness a demonstration of carbon moving in the steel from Alfa to Gamma states and hear an explanation of what this means.
Blade design will include proper form, edge geometry, and balance. Six inches of 1095 steel will be used to forge these blades with particular attention given to working temperature and heat treatment. Finishing will be done with belt sanders, files, sandpaper, and Whetstones. The finished blades will have black paracord and epoxy-wrapped handles.
Participants will be able to test the quality of their finished work on various ropes and woods. JD Smith will test his work on plate steel.
2-Day Welding Workshop
During Festival of Fire 2023, SAW will be hosting a two-day welding workshop where students will learn various welding techniques and work on their own sculpture projects. While you are here, make sure to check out the keynote talks on Friday night, and witness the iron pour in our foundry on Saturday!
In this intensive two-day workshop participants will observe and practice several fundamental techniques used in metal fabrication. Time will be split between demonstration and assisted hands-on practice. The instructor will demonstrate the safe and proper use of a variety of equipment, then students will choose metal scrap material to create a sculpture of their own design. Techniques covered include heating, bending, and cutting using an oxy-acetylene torch, cutting using a plasma cutter, and MIG welding.
Students must wear close-toed shoes, have hair tied, a hat or bandana (recommended), and long pants.
Details
Saturday and Sunday
September 23-24th, 2023
Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Minimum Age: 14+
Six Students Max
Workshop Fee: $260
Materials Fee: $40
Time: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Lunch 12:00 - 1:00 PM
Bring your own lunch and water bottle!
Drop-In Make Your Own SCRATCH BLOCK Workshop
Participants will have the opportunity to make their very own cast iron tile sand mold in this drop-in workshop!
Hand-off your mold to our team to pour in iron and once the pour is over we will clean up the tile for you to take home!
Drop in any time between 10 AM - 2 PM to make your scratch block. Molds won’t be ready to take home until Sunday afternoon. Pour begins at 3 PM.
Standard Scratchblock: 4”x4”
Saturday 9/23/2023
10 AM - 3 PM
Photo credit Dan Crowther
