Casting a New Tradition

Principal Investigator
Tara Fadenrecht, Materials Science and Engineering
Fund: Alumni Class Funds
Funding Period: AY2019
Department/Lab/Center: Materials Science and Engineering

The funds requested in this proposal will be used to present undergraduate students with a hands-on, cross-disciplinary approach to engineering and visual art through the production of an interactive, life-size, cast bronze beaver sculpture. This proposed special project class, Casting a New Tradition, would provide undergraduate students exposure to metallurgical and ceramic processes supplemented with art historical relevant lectures as they relate to metal casting. From schematic rendering to metal casting to polishing and patination (and the many steps in between), students in this class will learn through hands-on experience how a cast sculpture comes to fruition as well as how much applied materials science knowledge is involved in art making.