Saturday, September 20th 8pm in Main House
Layah Jane
Layah Jane, from Toronto, Ontario, will be on tour introducing her new album, Brightness & Bravery, with special guest Oliver Johnson.
Layah's sophomore full-length release Brightness & Bravery (Grace Note Records, 2008), was produced by Oliver Johnson (Esthero, Divine Brown), and is as organic, rich and sonically intimate as ever. A collection of Canada's finest players offered their musical blessing: Ben Riley (Bruce Cockburn), Mark Mariash (Ron Sexsmith, Sarah Slean), Bryden Baird (Feist), Lyle Molzan (Jann Arden), Marc Rogers (K'naan, Philosopher Kings), Burke Carroll (Kathleen Edwards), Roger Williams (Ivana Santilli), Brian MacMillan (Thin Buckle, Barenaked Ladies), and Dave Gouveia (Amanda Marshall, Ivana Santilli).
Personal, political and passionate, Layah Jane's music will speak courageous and tender, to the hungry hearts of poets, activists, and lovers alike.
$5-$10 donation suggested.
Toast or No
Young Artists from Distinguished Northeast Colleges will Converge at SAW this September for the Second Annual Salem Art Works Collegiate Iron Pour
On Saturday, September 27th, college students from all over the Northeast will converge at Salem Art Works in Washington County for the 2nd Annual Collegiate Iron Pour. Dubbed Toast or No, this year’s pour is expected to draw upwards of 60 students. The NYSCC School of Art & Design at Alfred University, Bennington College, Skidmore University, Union College as well as other distinguished schools will be participating. The event is an excellent opportunity for students, organizations, and professors to meet, collaborate, share ideas, and establish a lasting dialogue and friendship.
Participants are scheduled to arrive on Friday to prepare the equipment and materials for the pour. Early on Saturday morning they will begin warming the furnace using coke and propane; a glowing, red-hot lining indicates it is ready to be charged with ferrous material. The iron will be heated in the cupola to approximately 2800 degrees Fahrenheit. at which point the metal will become viscous and spit sparks from the opening at the top of the well, called the slag-hole. Weather permitting, the furnace will be tapped at approximately 11a.m., at which time participants will don heat resistant clothing and begin ladling the molten iron into molds constructed out of resinated sand. The process of pouring the iron will be completed in three to four hours after which the iron will be given a minimum of seven hours to settle before the molds are cracked open. Each piece will require additional cold-working, such as cutting, grinding, and surface treatments, before it is complete.
Because large scale iron pours require the focus, skill, and energy of many people working together in order to be successful, students will have to work together in teams throughout the pour. This collaborative approach to art-making helps young students progress exponentially faster than if they were working individually and allows for students across the northeast to connect and share their ideas and skills. This conference is also an unusual opportunity for schools without casting facilities to provide their students with the means to make cast-iron sculpture.
The public is invited to watch the pour from 11:00 am on. There will also be a closing reception for the exhibition Ferroscity: Welcome to the Land of Cast Iron Sculpture, in SAW’s Barn II Gallery, following the pour at 7:30 pm.
