Upper Iowa Unversity unveils butter peacock at Iowa State Fair

FAYETTE -- Move over Butter Cow, Upper Iowa University (UIU) has churned out a new piece of creamy yellow artwork for the Iowa State Fair. After migrating 170-miles from Fayette Campus to Des Moines, UIU's Butter Peacock arrived safely Wednesday, July 31, in the Varied Industries Building at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

Creativity and independence are cornerstones of UIU's art program, where faculty members actively lead, motivate and support students to be goal-driven in their education, artistic pursuits and careers. The Butter Peacock took "creativity" to an entirely new level for its sculptors, UIU associate professor of art Elissa Wenthe and senior art education major Meghan Kleitsch.

The two first-time butter sculptors assembled a wood, plastic, cloth and steel mesh frame depicting the peacock sitting upon a pedestal, before bringing approximately 50 lbs. of butter to room temperature for the project. When the butter had reached the desired consistency, the artists entered a 38-degree cooler to complete their work.

Over a five-hour span, the sculptors applied and molded layers of the dairy substance until the 44-inch tall piece of artwork was completed. Both artists acknowledged the experience was very similar to working with clay.

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