On Saturday, November 20, Kenneth Payne, professor of fine arts, will direct sculpture students and independent artists in the pouring of 4,000 pounds of molten iron into more than 100 sculpture molds.
Prep work will begin at 10:00 a.m.; the furnace lighting will take place at noon; and the iron pour itself will take place from approximately 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.

The Invitational Iron Pour was started 20 years ago by Payne to give students an opportunity to turn their sculpture designs from mold into image. At the time, there were only four such events on campuses nationwide. Today, as cast iron sculpture has grown in popularity, pours have become more prevalent, but Buffalo State College’s is still considered one of the best.

Payne came to Buffalo State in 1990 from the Midwest, where he lived in Milwaukee and had galleries in Chicago. That transition is marked by another benchmark in his career: Payne re-created an eighteenth-century pre-melting furnace prized by artisans for its portability but lost to history. He now lectures throughout the world on the furnace. His original re-creation and three variations are enviable resources on Buffalo State's campus.

Payne’s students benefit from the furnace, as well as his contacts in the international “iron community.” Over the years, they have traveled to numerous countries, including Russia, Hungary, Finland, and Israel, and have presented and participated in major conferences throughout the world. Alums of the Buffalo State sculpture program can be found in major institutions, galleries, and companies across the United States.