Recycling aluminum cans in the art foundry is commonly looked at as a waste of time. They take up so much volume (even when squished) and weigh so little, it takes too long to feed them into a standard art furnace. This sounded like a challenge!

We wanted to invite the community to bring something to be recycled into art through a transformative process that is engaging. We decided to make a machine (The Can-Do can smelter) that would allow a person to dump a bagful of aluminum cans into a hopper, and watch as they are melted into a consistent stream of molten metal. This metal would then flow and consolidate into a crucible to be superheated. The crucible is then lifted from inside the furnace and poured directly into molds on site. They will cool to the touch in 30 minutes and can be taken home and hung on the wall, placed in the garden or on a shelf!

Every audience member can purchase a pre-cast mold block for $10 and carve a design into it on site with the help of our student team. This can be filled with metal within minutes and taken away the moment it has cooled!

We will also be selling pre-cast aluminum objects to raise funds for the BSP. These will include an aluminum coaster with the BSP logo, a serving dish, and a garden stone. There will also be an edition of 10 fine art objects by Missoula artist, and BSP Curator, Brad Allen”.