Calendar of Events
Winter 2007 - 2008

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DVD presentation explores the fun, adventure and wackiness of rockhounds. Travel around the U.S to see rockhounding activities including digging quartz crystals in Arkansas, uncovering dino footprints in Texas, finding barite roses in Oklahoma and visiting the largest Rock Food Table in Houston. Also, see geology experiments performed.

DVD - Ages 6 yrs. to Adult - 60 minutes
2:00 p.m. Regular Museum Admission

This hands-on activity allows children and adults to search for gemstones and mineral specimens among more common rocks and minerals. Learn the difference between rocks and minerals and how to distinguish between them. Each rock or mineral found is identified and can be taken home.

Activity - Ages 5 yrs. to Adult - 50 minutes
2:00 p.m. - Reservations Recommended
$4.00 per person, Museum Members Free

MY FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME
By LaVergne Novak

     Andy Warhol said that everyone enjoys fifteen minutes of fame in his lifetime. My fifteen minutes took almost a lifetime to materialize, but the wait has certainly been worthwhile.

    Many years ago I was an avid fossil hunter. A group of friends and I, all members of the Lizzadro Museum and students at the Museum’s lapidary school, spent a lot of weekends climbing around the old Peabody strip coal mines in Braidwood and Morris, Illinois in the Mazon Creek area. Our mentor was Wilbert Rath, who ran the lapidary school. We looked for iron concretions that might contain fossils. When we found a concretion, we would tap it on one end with a rock hammer. If we were lucky, the concretion would split apart and reveal a 300
million year-old fern fossil.

    In April, 1970 we were hunting in Dresden, and I found a fern fossil that was different from any other I had ever seen. I ran to show it to Wilbert because he was more knowledgeable about fossils than the rest of us. He said, “LaVergne, that’s a crying fossil.” I asked him what the heck a crying fossil was, and he answered, “I’m crying because you found it and I didn’t.” I looked in several paleobotany books in an effort to identify it but couldn’t find it in any of them, so I just put it in a carton with the rest of my collection.

LaVergne Novak’s “Crying Fossil” (pictured above) has yet to be identified.

   Now fast-forward 36 years! In November, 2006 I went to a fossil show at the Lizzadro Museum. I knew that Jack Wittry, who works at the Field Museum and who had just published the definitive book on Mazon Creek plant fossils, would be there, signing and selling his book. I was sure he would be able to identify my fossil, so I took it along. When I showed it to him, I couldn’t believe his startled reaction He said, “I can’t tell you what it is, because I have never seen one like it before.” He said he knew that the Field Museum doesn’t have one and the Smithsonian doesn’t have one, because he had researched both collections for his book. He assured me that it is a very important specimen that should be studied, researched and identified. By the end of day, after much deliberation, I decided that if I truly had a fossil that was of scientific value, the best thing I could do would be to donate it the Field Museum, which I did.

    Shortly thereafter, I received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Field Museum and a letter from Dr. Ian Glasspool, the Paleobotany Collections Manager. Dr. Glasspool said he had e-mailed images of my fossil to his colleagues in the U.K. and Canada, and they were all eager to study it. Using a high-resolution scanning electron microscope, Dr. Glasspool is able to see unbelievable details in tiny portions of the fern, and he sent me a set of wonderful pictures. In addition, he invited me to visit him at the Field Museum to see his workplace and the
collections in his care.

    Of course, I accepted Dr. Glasspool’s invitation and spent a fascinating and most informative afternoon with him. He took me to the new subterranean, air-conditioned, humidity-controlled quarters that house the Paleobotany and Geology collections. Among the many things that he showed me was a bit of charcoal that is 2.3 billion years old, the product of fires that raged on Earth in its infancy. I saw my fossil safely displayed on a shelf. How I wish that Wilbert were still alive to see what has become of my “crying fossil.” This area is kept locked and is not open to the public. I felt privileged to have been taken there.

    As of this date, my fossil still has not been identified and, therefore, has not yet been named. I am satisfied that it has a good home at the Field Museum in Dr. Glasspool’s care. Meanwhile, I am enjoying my fifteen minutes of fame and the new friends I now have at the Field Museum. Life is good.

    LaVergne Novak is a member of the Lizzadro Museum and contributing writer to publications.
    
     The Museum is offering two collecting trips this summer: on June 21 and July 26. See our website or phone the Museum for more details.

Exhibit ends May 25th, 2008

Gargoyles and Sculpture
By Walter S. Arnold
I often receive questions from students and teachers asking about gargoyles and sculpture. Here is a collection of some of these questions and my answers.

What do gargoyles look like?
     Every gargoyle is different. They are often based on animal or human forms, but exaggerated or distorted.

What are they made of?
     Traditionally, they are carved out of stone and built into stone buildings like the old castles and cathedrals of Europe. There are some made of terra cotta (which is a form of baked clay), copper and other materials.
What are some of the legends about gargoyles? Where do gargoyles come from?
     In general, I think most of the stories and myths were created “after the fact”. The most common belief is that gargoyles are protectors, keeping evil away from the buildingsand their occupants. Many cultures throughout history have created sculptures of fantastic creatures. Gargoyles and grotesques stir our imaginations, as they stirred the imaginations of the sculptors and carvers who created them.
     The best known examples of gargoyles are from the Medieval period, a time when most people were illiterate. The carvings served the role of books, telling stories and reporting on life. The choices of design and imagery were influenced by local myths and legends, but also by the individual mood and imagination of the artist.
     A bestiary was a book written in the Middle Ages with illustrations of imaginary animals, with an explanation of the powers and symbolism of each animal. Medieval sculptors may have looked at these books for ideas. Symbolism was more important than scientific accuracy in depicting these creatures. Each creature represented a different moral quality.
     Gargoyles and grotesques have always given carvers and sculptors a chance to use their creativity, to explore the possibilities of stone and imagination. They free us from the limits imposed by most other types of carving, and this was especially true in the Middle Ages. Carvers love creating these pieces, and viewers love seeing them. This may be the real reason why they exist.

Illinois artist Walter Arnold pictured with pixie and gargoyle.

How small can they get?
     The real ones on buildings have to be large enough for people to see them from a distance, but I’ve seen some small creatures carved on buildings that are only a few inches high. I have one that is only 1-1/2” tall hidden on the front of my studio.

How are they put on buildings?
     They are built into the building the same way other stones or bricks are put in. A stonemason uses mortar and sets one stone on top of another. Often the stone will be tied back to the inner wall of the building with stainless straps or other types of anchors.

What tools are used?
     Mostly hammers and chisels. The hammers can be iron, steel or wooden mallets. Pneumatic hammers (powered by compressed air) were invented over 100 years ago and are used extensively for carving now. The chisels are made in many different shapes to cut the stone in different ways.

Where do you get ideas?
     A combination of study and imagination. I have lots of old books, some over 150 years old, with pictures of gargoyles. These give me ideas, and I do a lot of drawing. I like to travel, and I’m always looking around me at buildings, trees, animals and sculpture, collecting ideas and inspiration. Some things I make up as I go along, like doodling. Leonardo da Vinci suggested staring at peeling paint on an
old wall, after a while you can start imagining faces in the shapes of the paint.

What are some styles?
     Gargoyles were most common in Gothic architecture, and blend with that style very well, but I’ve seen many in other styles, ranging from Baroque and Romanesque to Art Nouveau and Art Deco. You can find similar forms in other cultures and in non-Western architecture.

Why are they popular?
     I think they appeal to our imagination and the subconscious. They take human characteristics, exaggerate,change them, blend them with animal characteristics, so they can symbolize any aspect of our personalities. Humans are differentiated from the animals by our imagination, creativity, humor and an appreciation of art. Gargoyles fit in that realm, and are part of what make us human. Artists can express humanity and emotion in a creative fashion by using distorted or fantastic forms.

How long have you been making them?
     I started drawing this sort of creature and making clay models when I was around 6 years old, and started carving stone when I was about 12.

Why does it seem like there are no new buildings that incorporate animals?
     A number of things, including builders and developers who don’t have much background in the visual arts and the current view on budgets holds that you build a building in the way that is least expensive. At the turn of the century, carvers were the best paid of the building trades with wages similar to what many lawyers of the time were paid. A major building would have 3 to 5 percent of the budget allocated to ornamentation and 20 or 30 carvers might work on a project. Nowadays carving is viewed as too expensive; it’s considered extravagant to spend 1% of the budget on all the art, both ornament and art hanging on the walls. Also, people are afraid to express anything different. Ornamentation and

Bear gargoyle created from limestone by Walter Arnold.

design are now like elevator music, something to make a pleasant, soothing, n o n - d i s t r a c t i n g background, nothing that will offend or be controversial. Animal imagery is a dangerous gamble from the standpoint of the builders, developers and architects.

What do animals mean in a building in the cultural sense? Ornament only? Symbolism?
     Both, but symbolism is less a factor now than it was a few hundred years ago. The language of symbolism is lost on most people. You have to stop, look and consider what you are looking at to start learning the language.

Why are the frightening creatures on buildings the most outstanding and not the neutral or friendly ones like unicorns or centaurs?
     I’ve seen a lot of neutral ones, but the stronger the image the more effective the carving and design, so the frightening ones are more striking.

What animals are most commonly represented in architectural ornament?
     Lions and eagles are the most common in Americanarchitecture, symbols of strength and power, and the Eagle is an American symbol. In other countries and cultures other animals are more common. For example, in ancient Egypt cats and snakes were very popular symbols.

Why is stone sculpture dying out in modern building? Is there any way it can rebound?
     Architectural styles and architectural education from the 1950’s to 80’s nearly killed building sculpture. It’s coming back to a limited degree. All the stone companies are very busy now, but mostly with slabs and flat panels. Architects haven’t really been taught how to design with stone since the 40’s, so they’re not comfortable with it.

What materials do you use to carve?
     I usually work with Indiana Limestone quarried in Southern Indiana. I also use Italian Marble, Kansas Limestone and a few other types of marble and limestone.
I also make cast reproductions of some of my pieces and sell them. To make a cast, first you make a mold of the original. The mold can be rubber, plaster or other materials. Then the casting material is poured into the mold. My casts are in a durable resin which reproduces the detail nicely. Other popular casting materials include plaster and cement.

Do you also work with clay?
     I will sometimes use clay when I’m doing a model that I need to change and modify or when I’m trying out different ideas for a design. Using clay is very different from stone. With stone, you start from a block and cut back; with clay you build up. When I do use clay, I generally build it up and carve it back which is not the way most sculptors work.

What are the largest sculptures you have carved?
     The Turtle fountain I carved included a stone turtle 3- 1/2’ tall and weighed 1800 pounds. Another is one of the restoration pieces I did for the Chicago Tribune Tower. It was about 2500 pounds when finished. There is a small grotesque on it reading a newspaper. The entry panels I did for the Helen Brach Primate House at the Lincoln Park Zoo consisted of about 22 pieces of stone (I did two sets, for the North and South) totaling about 12 to 14 feet high. Each one had two carved panels with monkeys. The panels were 6’ x 2’.

     Walter Arnold will lecture at the Museum on Sunday, February 3 at 2:00 p.m. An opening reception for the special exhibit will immediately follow the lecture.
Reservations are recommended (630) 833-1616, regular
Museum admission.

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