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On the warm and sunny final day of February in Eliot, Maine, the crisp air outside the Green Foundry at Sanctuary Arts was overlaid with a smell more associated with the heavy industry of old New England than the present.

MULTIMEDIA Slideshow:  Green Foundry fosters collaboration

Outside a barn-like structure to the rear of the art compound, the sky was Simpsons blue and the snow was melting. Inside, Lauren Holmgren, wearing protective eyewear and heavy-duty work gloves, was using tongs to lift what looked like a shriveled human head out of a cauldron.

She’s no witch, she’s a foundry artist, and along with her professional and romantic partner, Josh Dow, is half of the Green Foundry (www.sanctuaryarts.org).

Holmgren (originally from Derry) and Dow (formerly of Newburyport, Mass.,) met during their intensive study of foundry at Massachusetts College of Art (www.massart.edu), under the tutelage of the renowned George Greenamyer (www.greenamyer.com).

When they began the Green Foundry at Sanctuary (in partnership with founder Christopher Gowell), they had next to nothing and little money. With donations of a band saw, tools, a furnace and the lucky finding of an air compressor, they had a beginning. Now, the foundry looks completely outfitted, and local sculptors (notably Gowell) benefit from the pair’s expertise in sand casting and lost wax technique to bring to fruition their sculptural vision. The Green Foundry also takes commission work. When we were there, we delighted in a preview of the gorgeous, unique, and immensely heavy sign for the new Portsmouth restaurant Black Trumpet (www.blacktrumpetbistro.com — the revamped, under-new-ownership Lindbergh’s Crossing on Ceres Street).

It’s no wonder it’s hard for Lauren and Josh to find time to make their own art. But they do. As part of the Iron Guild (a self-described "renegade band of iron casters"), they do group performance art across the country, "from simple iron foundry demonstrations to site-specific performances." They smash up radiators, throw molten metal at wet wooden walls and generally put on a hell of a show. You can watch the sparks fly on their YouTube videos: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=IronGuild.

The vision of an artist working in solitude, inspired by life’s iniquities while making masterpieces couldn’t be further from what life is like for Lauren and Josh. Making art in a foundry can be backbreaking, dangerous work. An artist can’t do it alone. Sometimes you need a hand from another – and maybe four pairs of hands. Ego is forced to the back seat by collaboration and partnership.

So, for the Us Weekly portion of this piece, I had to ask … How is it working together as a couple? When I did, Lauren and Josh looked at each other and giggled. He answered. Ninety-five percent it’s great — like working with your best friend, he tells me. They’re still figuring out the 5 percent of disagreement, learning how to do the work/art/love dance without stepping on each other’s toes. Whatever they’re doing, it seems to be working.

The two are leading a class in bronze sandcasting at Sanctuary starting March 10. If you’re interested, visit http://www.sanctuaryarts.org/catalog/course.cfm?234.