Chess Mates

How do the artists create the sculptures’ realistic texture?

The botanical gardens in Carefree, Arizona are now home to an unlikely pair of chess players. A 9-foot-tall elephant named Chessie Trunkston and a tiny field mouse named Hershel Higginbottom—each a hand-carved sculpture—contemplate their next moves.

Officials from the small desert town recently invited artists Ray Villafane and Sue Beatrice to carve the artwork using river silt, a type of sediment. The team used 60,000 pounds of silt to sculpt the charming elephant and mouse. The fine silt allows the artists to sculpt realistic details—from the rough wrinkles on Chessie’s trunk to Hershel’s delicate fur. The artists use a spray solution of water and glue to hold the sculptures together.

Villafane explains that Carefree’s botanical gardens are “a playground and inspiration.” 

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