Sculpted aluminum mural at Tates Creek entrance

Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Gallery (click any photo to view the gallery)
The artists poured molten aluminum into the students' sand molds. "Every round, we can pour 15 blocks," metal sculptor Gerry Masse said. One-hundred students participated in the project, each designing a tile for the mural.

The artists poured molten aluminum into the students' sand molds. "Every round, we can pour 15 blocks," metal sculptor Gerry Masse said. One-hundred students participated in the project, each designing a tile for the mural.

Jamisen Routt and Jaime Westley first used pencils to outline the fish on their tiles, which became part of a 2.5 x 12-foot mural. "It feels like it has a purpose -- that's the big thing," Jaime said.Students used chiseling tools, nails, even coins to etch images into their scratch blocks, which were made of sand. "This isn't a medium I've worked in, but I really like it," said sophomore Shelby Fulton. Metal sculptor Gerry Masse loaded 15-pound solid aluminum ingots into the 3,000-degree furnace. "Without fire, we can't make our art," he said.The crew used hand-forged tongs to move a block of aluminum after it was heated to about 1,800 degrees. The artists poured molten aluminum into the students' sand molds. "Every round, we can pour 15 blocks," metal sculptor Gerry Masse said. One-hundred students participated in the project, each designing a tile for the mural.After the tiles hardened for about 10 minutes, they went into the "quenching bucket." The water boiled and steam rose as the tiles cooled to a more manageable 200 degrees.After a dip in the water bucket, the aluminum tiles were laid out on the sidewalk for additional cooling.The crew buffed and sanded each tile so the edges would fit flush when installed in the mural.Students, teachers and staff gathered outside the school throughout the day to watch the artists at work and to see the finished tiles.About a week after pouring the molds, Masse returned to Tate Creek to install the tiles.The mural, which consists of 108 separate tiles like these all fitted together, was installed on the exterior wall to the right of the school's main entrance.

One-hundred students are making a singular lasting impression at Tates Creek High School, where their 12-foot-long sculptured aluminum mural is displayed near the entrance.

“One of the things the sculptor is saying is that this particular piece of artwork will last for 2,000 years,” said humanities teacher Mary Anne Embry. “It’s the idea of permanence here – they can do something creative that will be a lasting record.”

Metal sculptor Gerry Masse spent time with Embry’s students talking about his craft and showing them how to scratch designs into 5x7-inch sand blocks.

“This isn’t a medium I’ve worked in, but I really like it,” said sophomore Shelby Fulton, who mostly does sketches.  “It’s like chiseling, in a way.”

Masse and a four-member crew also brought their traveling foundry or furnace to the high school, where they poured molten aluminum into the sand molds and prepped the students’ tiles.

“We just grind all the edges off and soften them,” Masse explained March 13 as his colleagues buffed the metal blocks so the edges would fit flush. Then came the black oxide patina finish, which binds to the metal. “It’ll never come off like paint,” he noted. “The background will be black and the raised parts a polished silver.”

Masse and his crew – all of whom have art degrees – later drilled the hundreds of holes needed to bolt each tile to the wall separately. He installed the completed mural the following weekend.

“They’re becoming part of their culture forever now,” Masse said of the students. “They brought their own voice to each part. The kids will see their individual blocks, but it’ll tie together as one big example of teamwork.”

The teenagers are excited about the prospects. “It feels like it has a purpose – that’s the big thing,” said sophomore Jaime Westley.

While the artwork will reflect various talents and skill levels, it will be a cohesive piece because of the theme. “Thinking in terms of ‘Tates Creek,’ we decided to go with a school of fish,” Embry said. “The mural will resemble a creek.”

“(Masse) let us come up with our own design, but we had to use three objects,” sophomore Mallory Antel explained, citing the fish, rocks and water in each tile.

The students used registration marks to match up the water lines, and they all carved their fish swimming in the same direction.

“Movement is a big key to making this project work,” librarian Jennifer Prall said, adding, “(Masse) likes to say, ‘You’re creating one big voice out of a hundred little voices.’”

Prall, a friend of the sculptor’s, first suggested he come to her school. Two companies – Insight Communications and Shepherd Communications – provided financial backing for the project, dubbed “Power of Communication through Art.”

“The Tates Creek project is a classic example of somebody falling in love with this process and seeing it through,” Masse said. “In the art world, there is no opportunity unless you create it.”

Online:

Visit www.sculpturetrails.com/ to learn more about metal sculptor Gerry Masse and his workshops.