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Dubuque Iron Pour Project Brings New Heat to Iowa’s Creative Scene

by Angela Zonunpari

Two people in heavy iron casting protective gear pouring hot metal into molds that are resting on the ground.
Photo Credit: David Welder / Courtesy of Tamsie Ringler
The Dubuque Iron Pour Project by Tamsie Ringler hosted a number of free workshops for small groups and community where participants learned the iron casting process—"from pattern to pour."

A series of molten-metal workshops are bringing artists and neighbors together in northeastern Iowa, sparked by newcomer Tamsie Ringler.

Tamsie Ringler moved to Dubuque, Iowa, five years ago. After years in Minnesota and Wisconsin, she was looking to retire somewhere she could afford a house, continue her art practice, and see her son finish school. 

But before she relocated, Ringler spent decades teaching sculpture and foundry in colleges and leading iron pours across the country and internationally. At these live, high-heat casting events, artists melt scrap iron in a furnace and pour the glowing metal into molds to create sculptures. 

A group of metal workers working next to an outdoor furnace and two of them pour hot metal into a large mold.
Photo Credit: Heidi Bohnenkamp / Courtesy of Tamsie Ringler
For Tamsie Ringler, the iron pour is a space for community building, art, performance, teaching, among many other things. It’s integral to her life. Pictured here is a iron pour performance in 2015 at the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Ringler has always loved the collective spirit that comes with iron casting and foundry,  a passion she put into practice during a decade of organizing the Community Collaboration Hot Metal Pour at Minnesota’s Franconia Sculpture Park. 

“[It’s] working together with a large group of people to make something happen and supporting the work of other people as well as your own,” the artist explains. 

Ringler is used to setting up foundries in non-traditional spaces including parking lots and sculpture gardens. “It wasn’t a jump for me to be like, well, I can do that here in Dubuque,” she explains. “There wasn’t anything like that going on here.”

So, in spring of 2025, Ringler debuted the Dubuque Iron Pour Project.  

A group of people standing together smiling, waving or holding their arms up.
Photo Credit: David Welder / Courtesy of Tamsie Ringler
The first Dubuque Iron Pour Project crew included participants from Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota.

Heavy Metal Artistry

For three weeks, eight local and regional artists (including sculptors, painters, metalsmiths, and landscapers) joined Ringler through the whole metal casting process—“from pattern to pour.”

For participant Tim Olson, the technical parts of the workshop were a learning experience. 

“It took a while for it to all make sense,” says the artist who primarily works in painting and stained glass. He cast a miniature guard shack, incorporating stained glass as windows. “I picked a pretty difficult mold without really knowing what I was getting into.”

Like Olson, most participants were new to metal casting. “It was great—I got to meet artists [from Davenport, Iowa] I’d never met before… We were all working together pretty closely because we had to help each other mix the material for the molds,” he adds. 

Along the way, the group also helped Ringler make relief molds for the project’s outdoor community pours.

Supported by grants from the Iowa Arts Council, the Starseed Foundation, and local businesses, the Dubuque Iron Pour Project offered free workshops—including one at the Boys and Girls Club—and a public iron pour at the Dubuque Art Museum.

“I didn’t really think of this type of work as being a kind of community project, you know, the way it turned out to be,” says Olson. “I definitely want to do it again.”

A person sitting and looking away. They are wearing thick brown clothing, blue gloves, and protective helmet for working with hot metals.
Photo Credit: Jedrzej Niezgoda / Courtesy of Tamsie Ringer
Artist and educator Tamsie Ringler has spent decades teaching at universities across the country and organizing community metal casting events in non-traditional spaces around the world.
A group of people standing outdoors wearing heavy metal casting protective gear next to a portable furnace.
Photo Credit: David Welder / Courtesy of Tamsie Ringler
For three weeks, eight local and regional artists (including sculptors, painters, metalsmiths, and landscapers) joined Tamsie Ringler through the whole metal casting process, using salvaged iron from things like old radiators to source their metal.
Two round artwork pieces depicting a cartoon character. They are almost identical with one made with foam cut outs and the other being a metal replication.
Photo Credit: Dubuque Boys & Girls Club / Courtesy of Tamsie Ringler
Foam relief patterns molded and cast with young participants at the local Boys & Girls Club as part of Dubuque Iron Pour Project’s workshops this year.
A person hunching over a table in a classroom as they demonstrate to two young people who are sitting at the table and observing.
Photo Credit: Dubuque Boys & Girls Club / Courtesy of Tamsie Ringler
As part of Dubuque Iron Pour Project’s first year, Tamsie Ringler host a workshop for ten youth participants from the Boys and Girls Club to create foam relief patterns which were molded and cast.

Casting Community

Ringler kept the iron pour small this year, but hopes it can happen yearly. 

In 2026, she hopes to host a conference centering art and climate, along with more public iron pours and workshops.

“It takes a community of people to make [iron pours] happen. But I think we’re also all craving that, right? Because it’s difficult to get together in community,” she says. 

Thanks to Ringler, that community is taking shape in Northern Iowa—one pour at a time.

A large sculptural artwork placed outdoors in a foggy field. It depicts a long table with other sculptural elements. There is also a large boulder sticking out through a section of the table.
Photo Credit: Laura Feldberga / Courtesy of Tamsie Ringler
Tamsie Ringler’s 2014 work Ainavas Galds/ Landscape Table made with cast iron, steel, and granite boulders at the Iron.Stone Symposium, Pedvāle Open-Air Art Museum, Latvia.