The Carrie Deer

The Carrie Deer. . , The Carrie Furnaces, Constructed in 1906-1907, the Carrie Furnaces #6 and 7 stood at the heart of U.S. Steel's Homestead Works until 1978. At one time, the furnaces and the steelworkers who labored in them produced more than 1,000 tons of iron a day. Now, these 92-foot-tall structures stand as sentinels to Pittsburgh's steel heritage., The Artists, The Carrie Deer was constructed on-site by artists of the Industrial Arts Cooperative (IAC). Previously, a number of the artists had created The Owl sculpture in the site's Engine House. Returning to the site in 1997, the Core Artists worked on the sculpture each Sunday for one year, using only hand tools and materials scavenged from the site to create the over 40' wire-frame sculpture. The entire structure is anchored by chains to the base building and structurally secured by twisted wire ties. Additional volunteers helped hoist the components into place for securing to the main framework. Created as a transient work when the site was slated for demolition, the Carrie Deer was successively protected by the various site owners and is now an integral feature of the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area site.,

Core Artists: , 1. George Davis , 2. Liz Hammond , 3. Tim Kaulen , 4. John Latell , 5. Joe Small , 6. Tim Yohman , 7. Bob Ziller , 8. The Owl (salvage art sculpture by Industrial Arts Cooperative, Carrie Furnaces, Rankin PA)

, The Idea, After the closing of the Carrie Furnaces, indigenous trees and plants began to overtake the site creating a haven for wildlife. During their explorations of the site, the Core Artists encountered herds of deer within the newly forming refuge of the mill. These symbols of the site's return to its natural state were the inspiration for the sculpture. The deer skull (below) served as part of the maquette for design and engineering of the sculpture., Neck, Without electricity, only hand tools could be used for construction. The first six months of the project were devoted to: salvaging site materials and carrying them to the construction location, planning the sculpture's design, developing processes for material use, and determining a fastening system using hundreds of 8-12" hand-cut wire ties. A rudimentary jig was created on site for bending pipe into hoops forconstructing the load-bearing neck of the Deer. A tipi-like pipe frame was attached to the foundation roof and scaffolding was built to enable the artists to to secure the hoops to vertical pipe frame., Head, With the neck secured to the foundation, the aesthetic bending of pipe hoops for the head was completed on the ground. Particular attention was paid to rendering a frame embodying the features of a deer. A connecting ring with sufficient strength to bear the weight of the head, ears and antlers was bullt into the base of the head. Supporting hoop structures also needed to be strong enough to hold the weight of the artists who would climb the framework during construction., Lifting, Cabling was strategically attached to overhead structures as supports. Guide ropes were secured to the head to enable steering the head onto the neck while being lifted by a mechanical winch. As the process took a full day's time, the guide ropes were tied off and the head left hanging by the winch cable until the artists could return to the site the following week. Over the next few sessions, the head was positioned and secured to the neck by wire ties. This process was repeated for all the sculpture's components., Accents, Multi-colored hoses salvaged from the blast furnace systems were used to create feature accents and differentiate the metal wire frame sculpture from the surrounding mill structures., The artists carried the hoses to the construction site and assembled them by color to assess potential use. The hoses were woven through the framework in a technique mimicking a needle and thread. Hoses were woven through the ears and antlers while the elements were on the ground. The head and neck accent hoses were completed after the components were erected and secured., Ears, Constructed on the ground, the ears were temporarily attached to the head to test proper fit and details of attachment in preparation for installation after the head was secured to the neck. Lifted into place by guide ropes and the winch, they were secured by wire ties. Over nine months into the project, the sculpture began to take shape - although at this stage, it resembled a doe., Antlers, One of the largest challenges was designing the spiraling framework of the expansive antlers. Using a macquette to develop the skeletal frame, the antlers were constructed on the ground. Hoses and a ribbon of thin, shiny metal were woven into the frame to accent the fluid design. The antlers were hoisted into place and remaining accents added to the head and neck. The Carrie Deer was completed just prior to the winter of 1998., Photos by: Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area Archives, Tim Kaulen, Ron Baraff, Sharon Brown, Liz Hammond and Tim Yohman.