4th Annual Iron Pour | November 16, 2019

On Saturday, November 16th we will be melting 4,000 lbs of iron at 3,000 degrees right in the middle of Durham Central Park. Sound crazy? It's just what we do for fun. 

If you've never seen an Iron Pour, think about a gritty ballet where all the dancers are decked out in helmets and head-to-toe in leathers, dancing around a roaring furnace and pouring red hot metal into molds.

You can participate in this upcoming pour by creating your own scratch block and then watching it being poured on the 16th.

A scratch block is a 6X6 indentation in a block of hardened sand that you will receive when you sign up for a scratch block class. You scratch a design into the block, thinking backwards and upside down because you're creating the negative. We'll pour the molten iron into your block and you'll have a beautiful iron tile of your design. You'll be able to pick it up the next day as it will be TOO hot to take home that night.

Schedule:

Scratch block workshops run from 10am - 2:30pm. You’ll be able to buy and scratch a block until we run out.

Furnaces lit - 3:30pm

Batalá drums two sets from about 4pm to about 6pm

First pour around 4:30 - 5pm

Dragoonis Flame and his troupe will be performing an indescribable fire eating/breathing act starting around 6:30pm.

Last pour around 9pm

Scratch block workshops run a couple of times per week from September 25th to November 16th. Click below find the date that works for you.

REGISTER HERE

Durham Art Walk | March 7th-8th, 2020

Celebrate Durham’s downtown art walk at our beautiful foundry in Durham Central Park! Carve a scratchblock while sipping wine - then watch as Liberty Artists fire up the furnace, melt a crucible of metal, and pour your piece right in front of you. Once your tile cools - you’ll be able to take it home. Space is limited, so get your reservations early!

Times: Saturday March 7, 10am-5pm | Sunday March 8, 1-5pm

Sign up now for Earlybird pricing of $80. Price goes up to $100 on March 1.

The foundry will open at 1pm - each student will receive a scratchblock, and instructions on how to carve their design. (Note: While students don’t necessarily need to show up at exactly 1, all scratchblocks need to be finished by 3.)

At 3, we’ll fire up the furnace and serve wine, cider, and hors d’oeuvre as students finish their designs.

At around 4, we’ll pour the molten metal into the scratchblock molds.

Please pick up the cooled tiles before 5pm.

MORE DETAILS - SIGN UP

Introduction to Wood Turning | December 20th, 2019 | 9am-3pm

Leland Webb will introduce the student to the three basic cuts in wood turning and focus on tool techniques to develop safe turning practices/skills while using the three basic wood turning cuts.

Students will practice the three basic wood turning cuts: the Bead (convex cut), the Cove (concave cut), and the Flat (straight cut). Basic workshop safety will be stressed as students start with a square block of wood and use various turning tools to develop skills in making a simple Bead and Cove stick. With skill development and practice, students may make a simple project such as a weed pot, mallet, candlestick, or Christmas ornament, using these the three basic wood turning cuts.

Register here

Feast from the Furnace | January 18th, 2020 | 6-9pm

Glass blowing demonstrations by Durham-based designer Elijah Leed.

Watch as he makes beautiful hand-blown glass art while you sip wine and feast on an array of small plate appetizers cooked in the same furnace. The evening will kickoff with a leisurely tour of the Liberty Arts studio where you can interact with some of our very talented artists and browse the art they create.

This one-of-a-kind fundraising dining event is one you won’t want to miss.

My name is Aaron Pratt, and I've been cooking professionally for around 12 years. I was trained in fine dining and traditional Italian style food, at the Siena Hotel on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, NC, and worked my way up to Sous Chef. After leaving the Siena, I worked as Sous Chef for Isaiah Allen at the Eddy Pub, in Saxapahaw, NC for 5 years. I traveled for a year, in South America and spent several months at the Flying Melon on Ocracoke, NC, before returning to Saxapahaw to start a new business with the Eddy Pub, called Rotelle Mobile Pizza Oven. Now I travel the Triad and Triangle serving simple pizzas, based on simple ingredients grown by my neighbors. The wood fired oven helps me to produce a uniquely North Carolinian product based on techniques used in Italy for centuries.

MENU

1st Course - Arugula salad, olive oil, cider vinegar, toasted pecans, Calvander cheese

2nd Course - Blackened NC shrimp with lemon pepper beurre blanc, pickled winter vegetable lima bean succotash

3rd Course - Charred, coffee rubbed flank steak, tallow roasted sweet potatoes, crispy fried onions

4th Course - Lemon curd cream and berry crepes

Register here

Feast from the Furnace | March 16, 2019 - SOLD OUT

Glass blowing demonstrations by Durham-based designer Elijah Leed.

Watch as he makes beautiful hand-blown glass art while you sip wine and feast on an array of small plate appetizers cooked in the same furnace. The evening will kickoff with a leisurely tour of the Liberty Arts studio where you can interact with some of our very talented artists and browse the art they create.

This one-of-a-kind fundraising dining event is one you won’t want to miss.

The incredible menu will be arranged by Chef Pheobe Lawless, an award-winning baker and a James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2013 and 2014. She was a semifinalist for Outstanding Baker in 2015, 2016 and 2017. She spent nearly a decade working for James Beard-winning pastry chef Karen Barker at the beloved and now closed Magnolia Grill in Durham.

Most recently Pheobe shared her fine culinary skills at Scratch and The Lakewood.

Feast from the Furnace | January 19, 2019

Glass blowing demonstrations by Durham-based designer Elijah Leed.

Watch as he makes beautiful hand-blown glass art while you sip wine and feast on an array of small plate appetizers cooked in the same furnace. Our chef for the evening will be Charlie Deal, owner and chef of Jujube, Juju and Dos Perros. If you've ever eaten at any of these wonderful restaurants, you know you're in for a treat.

The evening will kickoff with a leisurely tour of the Liberty Arts studio where you can interact with some of our very talented artists and browse the art they create.

This one-of-a-kind fundraising dining event is one you won’t want to miss.

Register here