2010 - Volume #34, Issue #4, Page #23

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Limestone Fencepost Carved On Kansas Prairie

Limestone Fencepost Carved On Kansas Prairie AG WORLD 34-4-23 Limestone fenceposts are a common sight in Kansas. But there's only one like the post carved recently by a California sculptor on a pasture owned by Larry Hickman off Hwy. 232 near Lucas, Kan. The carved post is a likeness of Hickman's daughter with long flowing hair. It wasn't the first time sculptor Fred Whitman has worked on a Kansas fencepost. For years, people have been shipping Kansas limestone posts to him at his Ventura, Calif., studio. He carves 8 or 9 limestone sculptures a year. Clients pay from $2,000 to $4,000 per post. This year he decided to go to Kansas to see where the limestone is actually quarried. He introduced himself to folks at the Grassroots Art Center in Lucas, which celebrates the artwork of self-taught individuals who want to express themselves through art. Rosslyn Schultz, director of the center, spent an entire afternoon with Whitman driving around looking for a post he could work on. Once Whitman found a location he liked, he used a hammer, chisel, raspy file, and sandpaper to do the work. He spent 4 days in Lucas carving the fenceline post. "People around here are really enthusiastic about what he's done. There's been a lot of interest," says Schultz. "One man told us he wants Whitman to carve Abraham Lincoln on a post." Dentistry prepared him for the art, because the closest thing Fred had to formal training was his previous career. When a lower back injury made it intolerable to continue in that profession, he took up sculpture. Sculpture allows him to stand upright and move around as he works. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Rosslyn Schultz, Grassroots Arts Council, 213 S. Main St., Lucas, Kan. 67648 (ph 785 525-6118; www.grassrootsart.net) or Fred Whitman (ph 805 804 7000; www.fredsrockart.com).