|
Whale Tales - Mexican sculptor utilizes Butvar in monumental sculpture
Driving across the Baja California peninsula, a sculptor pauses to examine a whale vertebra on display in a local restaurant. Intrigued to find out more about the vertebrae, it’s by chance that the town’s mayor is having lunch at the same restaurant. He directs her to work with National Park rangers for more information. Her research would end in a one-of-a-kind monumental creation.
What ties Solutia into this tale, you might question? Butvar resin.
As a sculptor, my definition of the ‘body’ of my subjects has evolved to entail the most basic components – the skeleton, bones and vertebrae of a given subject. Because of this, I am constantly looking for bones from different species to incorporate into my sculptures," explains Sairi Forsman, a renowned Mexican sculptress.
Forsman’s research into the whale vertebrae revealed that the bones were tightly protected by National Park restrictions. "When I learned how complicated it would be to obtain the permits needed for a few bones, I decided to ask for an entire whale skeleton in order to build a larger project." When finished, the sculpture will reach more than 30 feet tall.
"The bones need to be preserved and protected from erosion and time," says Forsman, describing how she first learned of Butvar. "This made me look for a product that could give them strength, structure and protection without changing the appearance of the natural bones." Forsman said that reading materials specifications used by paleontologists for bone and fossil preservation led her directly to Butvar.
"I received a request through the Butvar site asking for samples," says Deanna Eggleston, Solutia customer service representative. "From there, Tom Strickland advised her on technical issues." Strickland is a Butvar technical service specialist.
Claudia Alanis, Butvar sales representative, also helped answer questions for Forsman. "In one of our conversations, I learned about the sculpture and became interested. The project illustrates how versatile Butvar truly is – and adds to the portfolio of the unique and impressive projects it’s used for," adds Alanis.
Forsman projects the sculpture will be complete by the end of the year. Once completed, it will be displayed at Guerrero Negro, a town well-known for its whale-watching tours. A slide show of the project’s progress, as well as updates, can be found at http://www.spaces.msn.com/members/sairiprojects/.
EDITORS NOTE: The whale used in Forsman’s sculpture died of natural causes.
# # #
|