Gain, or enhance, your appreciation for sculpture later this month when Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park in New Hampshire hosts its 8th Annual Sculptural Visions event.

On Saturday, September 28, from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the event will explore and celebrate the many forms of sculpture. Visitors can interact with artists demonstrating different sculptural techniques, such as modeling with clay, carving wood and stone, working with metal and wire, and using paper to cast a sculpture.

At 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., two sculptures will be cast in bronze during a demonstration of bronze casting. Throughout the afternoon there will also be hands-on sculpture activities and a performance on a Fire Organ. The event will happen rain or shine, and the park and event will be free admission all day.

Glen Campbell, owner of an artist foundry in West Rutland, Vermont, and utilizing a portable furnace, will cast two bronze sculptures using the ancient "lost wax" bronze casting method. This was the same process used by Augustus Saint-Gaudens to cast everything from his beautifully detailed portrait reliefs to heroic-size public monuments such as the Shaw Memorial, Farragut Monument, and Adams Memorial, all of which can be seen at the park.

Hands-on sculpture activities for children are offered and include making reliefs out of clay, or by embossing special foil. They also have the opportunity to create a plaster, 3-D cast of their hand. Throughout the afternoon there will be performances by Antoinette Jacobson on her Fire Organ, a sculpture that can be used as an instrument. Ingeniously created from metal pipes, the organ is actually played using a blowtorch, resulting in extraordinary sounds.

Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site is located off NH Route 12A, just north of the Cornish-Windsor covered bridge. The site celebrates the studios and home of the great American sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and is open daily through October 31, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For information on seasonal offerings, write: Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, 139 Saint-Gaudens Road, Cornish, NH 03745; phone: (603) 675-2175 x 106; visit the website: www.nps.gov/saga