By day, in a hidden forest near the town of Solsberry in eastern Greene County, the Sculpture Trails Outdoor Museum is open to the public for free.

Guests see 220 sculptures — made on-site — along three miles of trails.

By night, after the summer heat has died down, artists get to work on their cast-iron designs.

Every July, two dozen metal arts interns are invited to turn 30,000 pounds of cast iron into sculptures at the site’s iron foundry.

From sketching ideas to forging them, more than 30 designs are brought to life through teamwork and creativity. Some groups collect coal and others patch their stencils with sand and pour molten iron. 

Not only are they building art, but also community.

Curious about metalworking? Attend the museum’s annual aluminum pour celebration 12-6 p.m. Oct. 18, where you can learn about the art of casting aluminum and make your own relief sculpture. Learn more.

Related

The outdoor art destination in Indiana you’ve probably never heard of

The Greene County site started in 2002 and has expanded to feature hundreds of cast-iron art pieces on 3 miles of wooded trails.

June 24, 2026July 6, 2026

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Abra Richardson is a photojournalism intern for Mirror Indy and FPI News. Contact her at abra.richardson@mirrorindy.org.

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After midnight, artists use molten iron to create metal masterpieces

by Abra Richardson, FPI News
July 27, 2026

<h1>After midnight, artists use molten iron to create metal masterpieces</h1> <p class="byline">by Abra Richardson, FPI News <br />July 27, 2026</p> <p>By day, in a hidden forest near the town of Solsberry in eastern Greene County, the Sculpture Trails Outdoor Museum is open to the public for free.</p> <p>Guests see 220 sculptures — made on-site — along three miles of trails.</p> <p>By night, after the summer heat has died down, artists get to work on their cast-iron designs.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img src="https://fpinews.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/07112026_Welding1590-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2909" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Intern metal artists pour liquid iron to make a sculpture on July 18, 2026.</figcaption></figure> <p>Every July, two dozen metal arts interns are invited to turn 30,000 pounds of cast iron into sculptures at the site’s iron foundry.</p> <p>From sketching ideas to forging them, more than 30 designs are brought to life through teamwork and creativity. Some groups collect coal and others patch their stencils with sand and pour molten iron.&nbsp;</p> <p>Not only are they building art, but also community.</p> <p>Curious about metalworking? Attend the museum’s annual aluminum pour celebration 12-6 p.m. Oct. 18, where you can learn about the art of casting aluminum and make your own relief sculpture. <a href="https://sculpturetrails.com/event/24th-annual-aluminum-pour-community-celebration/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Learn more</a>.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img src="https://fpinews.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/07112026_Welding1580-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2910" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Intern metal artists pour iron to make a sculpture on July 18. </figcaption></figure> <div class="wp-block-columns alignwide"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://fpinews.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/07112026_Welding0486-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2920" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Intern metal artists work on a sculpture.</figcaption></figure> </p></div> <div class="wp-block-column"> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://fpinews.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/07112026_Welding0931-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2916" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tucker LeSar and Ethan Harmon, intern metal artists work on a sculpture.</figcaption></figure> </p></div> </p></div> <div class="wp-block-cover alignfull has-parallax" style="padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0"> <div class="wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-2917 size-full has-parallax" style="background-position:50% 50%;background-image:url(https://fpinews.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/07112026_Welding1611.jpg)"></div> <p><span aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim-0 has-background-dim" style="background-color:#41251d"></span></p> <div class="wp-block-cover__inner-container"> <p class="has-text-align-center has-large-font-size"> </p></div> </div> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://fpinews.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/07112026_Welding0027-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2912" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Zora Cokes, an intern metal artist, works on a sculpture made from molten iron.</figcaption></figure> <div class="wp-block-columns alignwide"> <div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:66.66%"> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://fpinews.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/07112026_Welding1250-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2914" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Intern metal artists put on safety gear before working on a sculpture.</figcaption></figure> </p></div> <div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:33.33%"> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://fpinews.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/07112026_Welding0967-819x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2922" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An intern metal artist watches as molten iron is poured into a mold to create a sculpture.</figcaption></figure> </p></div> </p></div> <div class="wp-block-group is-style-default has-light-gray-background-color has-background" style="padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)"> </div> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img src="https://fpinews.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/07112026_Welding0551-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2923" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">(From left to right) Laura Gonzalez, Rio Cullen, Elizabeth Daughety and Ashley Halpern work on a sculpture.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img src="https://fpinews.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/07112026_Welding0141-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2924" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Olivia Charles (left) and Małgorzata Wójtowicsz collect coal for the molten iron.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img src="https://fpinews.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/07112026_Welding1201-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2919" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Intern Gio Cullen works on a sculpture.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-full"><img src="https://fpinews.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/07112026_Welding0532.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2925" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An intern metal artist carries a bucket of sand for a sculpture that will be made from molten iron on July 18.</figcaption></figure> <p><em>Abra Richardson is a photojournalism intern for Mirror Indy and FPI News. Contact her at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:abra.richardson@mirrorindy.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">abra.richardson@mirrorindy.org</a>.</em></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://fpinews.org/rural/2026/07/27/welding-artists-sculptures-solsberry-photos/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://fpinews.org&quot;&gt;FPI News&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/fpinews.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/cropped-favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://fpinews.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=2939&amp;amp;ga4=G-GM4WM0SVTS&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://fpinews.org/rural/2026/07/27/welding-artists-sculptures-solsberry-photos/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/fpinews.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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