Artist teaching class on making cast iron art
By GREGORY MEIGHAN Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, August 19, 2010 ENCORE -Nashua Telegraph
BROOKLINE – All art – not just pictures – is worth a thousand words.
The Andres Institute of Art is offering those in all levels of artistic
ability an opportunity normally offered in art school.
Joseph Montroy teaches college art courses, does workshops,
makes and sells art and jewelry, and now will be conducting a cast
iron melt class at the institute at 1 p.m. Saturday.
A piece of clay in high school was the mold for Montroy’s drive and
passion. His malleable high school mind was latching onto the depths
of history pages or calculating the rise over run of a slope. Montroy
said he was drawn toward sculpture and anything in three dimensions.
Montroy, 32, is no longer a high school artist making mugs and vases
to give as birthday gifts. He received his master’s in fine arts from the
Rochester Institute of Technology and his current focus is on cast iron.
“It is a crazy process; it is a lot of steps,” Montroy said. “Welding is a
very direct method; casting is a long, drawn-out process with multiple
steps that keep my interest.”
He will conduct the cast iron melt class and help people take an idea
and turn it into physical art. People can draw and paint without an
artist’s assistance, and the only danger would be if the paint was lead-
based. A cast iron melt presents different dangers other than breathing
in hazardous fumes, however.
“Potential for harm is definitely there when you are dealing with melting
metal at 3,000 degrees,” Montroy said.
John Weidman, the director of the institute, says there is nothing to
worry about with the outdoor environment, appropriate amount of safety
gear and trained professionals.
“There is not a risk of getting burned because we are going to have
stringent safety,” Weidman said.
Weidman said he looks forward to Montroy teaching what he does best.
He said Montroy is not only a talented artist, but is a very good teacher,
as well.
The cost is $35. The president of the institute, Keith Trexler, said the
price covers the materials the people will get and pays for the artist.
“Sometimes we break even, sometimes we lose money,” Trexler said.
“It is about affording people an opportunity, the opportunity to do to
something they would have not have been able to do if they did not
go to art school.”
The institute is primarily involved with sculpture, Trexler said. It has
collected 60 original works that are dispersed along walking trails all
over its 140-acre sculpture park.
Trexler said the park is the largest in New England. He looks for art to
be donated to the institute’s permanent collection that can withstand
the smorgasbord of elements in any given year.
Trexler said the institute believes people should interact with art. “One theme for the symposium was ‘Sit on it,’ where
sculptors created things for people to sit on,” Trexler said. “People have been respectful.”
Anna Szok has been volunteering to maintain the mountain and all of the sculptures. Szok has an infatuation with the
mountain and wants to continue to bring people to it and direct its growth.
Szok has watched her 11-year-old son, Duncan, grow up with the mountain. She said he knows all the trails and
sculptures, and he has navigated visiting artists through the trails.
Szok has taken care of the outdoor area with so much pride that she says she feels like it’s her mountain.
“It is a wonderful blend of nature and man-made art,” Szok said, “a wonderful balance that we try to keep.”
She said she loves all the sculptures.
“When I started, it was seven sculptures, and now it is 60,” Szok said. “Andres has something for everyone to love and
everyone to hate.”
Weidman is a sculptor who loves art of the three-dimensional variety because it allows so many more views. Weidman
said each person has his or her own unique world view. And with sculpture, the art can be viewed with from every
possible angle, allowing even more interpretations. He said people will see things differently, and the institute allows
artists who visit to create whatever they want.
Szok says there are two types of artists who create for the collection: Those who have a set idea of what they’ll create
and those who walk the grounds and get inspired by a location and then get an idea. She says the latter normally walk
away much happier in the end. “The only person they have to answer to is themselves,” Szok said.
Montroy isn’t coming to create a piece of work to add to the collection. He wants to be the guide for people to start their
own collection.
Gregory Meighan can be reached at 594-5833 or gmeighan@nashuatelegraph. com.
IF YOU GO
Joseph Montroy’s art class
When: 1 p.m. Saturday Aug. 21.
Where: The Andres Institute of Art, 98 Route 13, Brookline.
Cost: $35.
To register: Call 673-8441; leave a message if no one answers.
By GREGORY MEIGHAN Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, August 19, 2010 ENCORE -Nashua Telegraph
BROOKLINE – All art – not just pictures – is worth a thousand words.
The Andres Institute of Art is offering those in all levels of artistic
ability an opportunity normally offered in art school.
Joseph Montroy teaches college art courses, does workshops,
makes and sells art and jewelry, and now will be conducting a cast
iron melt class at the institute at 1 p.m. Saturday.
A piece of clay in high school was the mold for Montroy’s drive and
passion. His malleable high school mind was latching onto the depths
of history pages or calculating the rise over run of a slope. Montroy
said he was drawn toward sculpture and anything in three dimensions.
Montroy, 32, is no longer a high school artist making mugs and vases
to give as birthday gifts. He received his master’s in fine arts from the
Rochester Institute of Technology and his current focus is on cast iron.
“It is a crazy process; it is a lot of steps,” Montroy said. “Welding is a
very direct method; casting is a long, drawn-out process with multiple
steps that keep my interest.”
He will conduct the cast iron melt class and help people take an idea
and turn it into physical art. People can draw and paint without an
artist’s assistance, and the only danger would be if the paint was lead-
based. A cast iron melt presents different dangers other than breathing
in hazardous fumes, however.
“Potential for harm is definitely there when you are dealing with melting
metal at 3,000 degrees,” Montroy said.
John Weidman, the director of the institute, says there is nothing to
worry about with the outdoor environment, appropriate amount of safety
gear and trained professionals.
“There is not a risk of getting burned because we are going to have
stringent safety,” Weidman said.
Weidman said he looks forward to Montroy teaching what he does best.
He said Montroy is not only a talented artist, but is a very good teacher,
as well.
The cost is $35. The president of the institute, Keith Trexler, said the
price covers the materials the people will get and pays for the artist.
“Sometimes we break even, sometimes we lose money,” Trexler said.
“It is about affording people an opportunity, the opportunity to do to
something they would have not have been able to do if they did not
go to art school.”
The institute is primarily involved with sculpture, Trexler said. It has
collected 60 original works that are dispersed along walking trails all
over its 140-acre sculpture park.
Trexler said the park is the largest in New England. He looks for art to
be donated to the institute’s permanent collection that can withstand
the smorgasbord of elements in any given year.
Trexler said the institute believes people should interact with art. “One theme for the symposium was ‘Sit on it,’ where
sculptors created things for people to sit on,” Trexler said. “People have been respectful.”
Anna Szok has been volunteering to maintain the mountain and all of the sculptures. Szok has an infatuation with the
mountain and wants to continue to bring people to it and direct its growth.
Szok has watched her 11-year-old son, Duncan, grow up with the mountain. She said he knows all the trails and
sculptures, and he has navigated visiting artists through the trails.
Szok has taken care of the outdoor area with so much pride that she says she feels like it’s her mountain.
“It is a wonderful blend of nature and man-made art,” Szok said, “a wonderful balance that we try to keep.”
She said she loves all the sculptures.
“When I started, it was seven sculptures, and now it is 60,” Szok said. “Andres has something for everyone to love and
everyone to hate.”
Weidman is a sculptor who loves art of the three-dimensional variety because it allows so many more views. Weidman
said each person has his or her own unique world view. And with sculpture, the art can be viewed with from every
possible angle, allowing even more interpretations. He said people will see things differently, and the institute allows
artists who visit to create whatever they want.
Szok says there are two types of artists who create for the collection: Those who have a set idea of what they’ll create
and those who walk the grounds and get inspired by a location and then get an idea. She says the latter normally walk
away much happier in the end. “The only person they have to answer to is themselves,” Szok said.
Montroy isn’t coming to create a piece of work to add to the collection. He wants to be the guide for people to start their
own collection.
Gregory Meighan can be reached at 594-5833 or gmeighan@nashuatelegraph. com.
IF YOU GO
Joseph Montroy’s art class
When: 1 p.m. Saturday Aug. 21.
Where: The Andres Institute of Art, 98 Route 13, Brookline.
Cost: $35.
To register: Call 673-8441; leave a message if no one answers.
