Untitled
4” x 2’ x 8’
Sand, earth, and cast iron
2014
2014 Hot Metal Intern
Sarah Dorau
Born: Ames, IA, USA, 1989
Resides: Carbondale, IL, USA
Education
BFA, Southern Illinois University, 2014
2019 Women’s History Month Blog Responses
1. Can you tell us a bit about your current artistic practice? Any new projects that you are working on?
“Currently my artistic practice is confined to nights and weekends or the occasional Iron Conference. I work full time as a lead fabricator for a custom furniture designer and it takes up a majority of week. Making my own work comes in spurts these days. Currently Im working on a series of cast iron mini sculptures with the original patterns made out of Plasticine and wood. The concept behind them is not to think too much about the end result but rather to enjoy the making process and the handling of materials. There are 31 total mini sculptures and I plan to cast the last 6 next week at Sloss Iron Furnaces in Birmingham, Alabama during their biennial iron conference.”
2. What project did you make during your residency here at the park?
“While I was at Franconia, I was encouraged by John Hock to go big, so that is precisely what I did. I created a 13 foot long cast iron vagina poured directly into the ground. I wanted to use the earth as a mother mold, and iron as a material due to the maternal/feminine aspects of both. I enjoyed the idea of taking this material that comes from the earth (iron) and using my body during an iron pour to then give it and myself back to the earth. I would love it if one day the earth just swallowed the sculpture whole.”
3. Why did you want to become an artist or what made you want to become an artist?
“I have wanted to be an artist since I was six years old and got my first art kit for Christmas. Though it took about 30 years to be confident in calling myself one (I still dont really). I just wanted to be dirty all the time and make stuff! It wasn’t until I poured Iron with a group of rad people that I decided to become a metal sculptor as a specialized medium.”
4. What keeps you motivated in the studio?
“That I have something to say. I have a lot of things to say. And sometimes you cant always say what you need to to the people that need to hear it, and so i make work because its better than remaining silent. I also feel that making art is healing and I find myself making objects because they are tangible. I can look at them and dissect them and change them, and it provides a level of control that I don’t get in dealing with anything else.”
5. What other artists who identify as women influence your artistic practice?
“I have been so lucky to have awesome mentors! Barbara Bickel who is a Canadian based artist and introduced me to feminism. Kristy Summers who first introduced me to iron casting and Franconia, heavily influenced my artistic practice. Every amazing woman I have met and poured iron with. Other artists I look at are Annie Sprinkle, Marina Abramovic, Kiki Smith, Louise Bourgeois, Carrie Mae Weems, and many more.”
6. Any advice for aspiring artists who identify as women out there?
“What you have to say is important. No one is going to fight for you to be an artist. You need to NEED it. You are never going to have enough money to make what you want to make, DO IT ANYWAYS. Try to learn as much as possible so you can do for yourself. You are so so valuable to this world, its our job as artists/activists/feminists to continue making and fighting because no one else is going to do it. Wear your safety glasses and hearing protection. Get mad. Make the damn thing.”