Now in its 9th season, the Fire Arts Festival is a celebration of fire sculpture and art that just wrapped up four days of performance in Oakland, Calif., July 15-18.
A fundraiser for the nonprofit organization, the Fire Arts Festival celebrates some of the industrial skills that are taught at the educational facility. Installations, demonstrations, and workshops on display in this once vacant Oakland lot include stone carving, electronic arts, glass blowing, welding skills, blacksmithing, jewelry making, woodworking, and neon design.
With the smell of propane in the air, take a stroll through one hot night in Oakland, Calif.
This year's feature performance on the center stage was The Rootabaga Opera, a musical story by Dan Cantrell, which incorporated elements of puppetry, song, dance, fire arts, and theater.
Teachers who lead classes held at the Crucible were set up at the festival, demonstrating their trades, which included metal working and blacksmithing, seen here.
Installations by Dan Das Mann, Karen Cusolito, Nate Smith Fire Vortex, False Profit Labs, Michael Christian, and Mark Perez were scattered through the yard in a festival which was three times larger than last year's show.
