Ant hill art – aluminum sculpture of an underground ant colony.
Strong. Intricate. Durable. Sound familiar? No, we’re not talking about Taber Extrusions’ aluminum shapes. We’re talking about ant hills.
The creator of anthillart.com and his website gallery became extremely popular when a video of the artist casting an ant hill sculpture out of a molten aluminum alloys went viral in 2014. And we must admit, from one aluminum casting manufacturer to another, these arthropod aluminum extrusions are pretty impressive.
In the video, the artist pours molten aluminum alloy into the fire ant colony, where the aluminum casts within every nook and cranny of the complex underground colony, creating a perfect aluminum replica of the infamous insect’s habitat. After the aluminum cools, the artist digs up the aluminum anthill, hoses it off, and voila! A biological, aluminum extrusion, scientific work of art.
Photos courtesy of anthillart.com
The aluminum sculptures became an overnight hit, and the internet is now buzzing not only with EBay listings of the famous aluminum shapes and countless photos, but a surprising amount of how-to articles and Do-It-Yourself video tutorials.
Left: Heavily protected workers pour molten aluminum alloys at the Taber Gulfport aluminum cast house facility.
Right: A “Bitty-Q” miniature grill made out of an aluminum can. Perfect for hot dogs and DIY Saturdays.
As an extrusion company that spends a good deal of time around aluminum alloys, pouring pounds of fiery aluminum lava on the front lawn seems a little too intense for our next weekend craft project, not to mention dangerous. (You could light your lawn on fire like this guy did.) We love a good aluminum casting project, but a DIY molten aluminum ant hill casting seems to be a little more extensive than, say, a DIY aluminum can miniature hot dog grill.
But hey, if you readily have access to a heavy-duty furnace burning at 1,220 degrees, 15 pounds of aluminum alloy scrap, and a portable crucible with fireproof tongs – knock yourself out. (And those pesky fire ants, too.)