Through Saturday, visitors can marvel at the impressive 1,000-pound butter sculpture of a cow at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. According to the American Dairy Association North East, this sculpture contains enough butter to make 96,000 pancakes. “It’s very unique what we do,” said Pelton. The couple emphasized that a sense of whimsy and joy plays a significant role in their creative process, along with trial and error, messiness, patience, preparation, and a great deal of physical labor.
Victor and Pelton are both alumni of the prestigious Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, graduating in 1968 and 2003, respectively. Victor enjoys working with found objects, reclaimed wood, and clay, while Pelton, in addition to being a painter, has a passion for animals, particularly horses, and portraiture.
Their journey to becoming two of the nation’s most sought-after food sculptors began with a unique opportunity involving Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller during the Broadway production of “Sugar Babies” in 1980. Victor, known for creating celebrity and political likenesses, was tasked with sculpting the stars using chocolate, a challenging medium. Despite a near-disaster when Miller accidentally knocked over one of the chocolate busts, a quick-thinking chocolatier saved the day with a tube of chocolate and Victor’s Swiss Army knife.
Since creating his first butter sculpture at the Pennsylvania Farm Show in 1995, Victor has continued the tradition every year since 2003, with Pelton joining him in 2008. Their enduring partnership with the American Dairy Association North East has been commended for captivating audiences and honoring the hard work of dairy farmers.
Victor and Pelton have accepted various unconventional commissions, including crafting butter sculptures of cows cheering for the Red Sox and creating busts of NFL draft picks out of Subway ingredients. Based in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, the couple’s innovative and meticulous approach to their craft supports the dairy industry and showcases their boundless creativity and exceptional craftsmanship.
Jim Victor and Marie Pelton collaborated on crafting a series of festive sculptures for the New York City locations of the fast-casual chain Chipotle. One lucky contest winner’s prize was to have their likeness immortalized in bacon, a task Victor and Pelton enthusiastically undertook. The duo meticulously cooked bacon strips in various methods to achieve the diverse colors and textures required for the unique sculpture. The recipient of this bacon masterpiece chose to display it behind a curtain in his bar, charging curious patrons a dollar for a peek, creating a temporary exhibit of sizzling curiosity.
The artistic duo shared insights into the challenges of working with food as a medium. Pelton highlighted the necessity of sculpting butter and chocolate in cooled environments, while the greasiness of bacon posed handling difficulties. Ingredients for sandwich and burrito sculptures, especially for brands focusing on freshness, need constant rotation to maintain visual appeal. Victor and Pelton likened their craft to that of Buddhist monks, embracing the transient nature of their edible artwork as a performative expression.
Drawing parallels to ancient Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the American Dairy Association North East noted butter sculpture as a revered art form, often utilizing yak butter and dye for intricate designs symbolizing cultural celebrations. Victor and Pelton emphasized the sustainability of their materials, ensuring that organic waste from their creations is repurposed through anaerobic digestion, yielding electricity or enriching soil as fertilizer for agricultural use. Surplus butter finds purpose in colleges converting kitchen oil into renewable energy sources like biofuel.
Following the conclusion of the Pennsylvania Farm Show, the colossal 1,000-pound butter sculpture crafted by Victor and Pelton is destined for disassembly, with the butter itself slated for recycling through a methane digester at a local farm, generating ample energy to power a household for three days. The remnants of the cow armature may find a new home in the couple’s yard, adding to their eclectic artistic menagerie.
For those intrigued by this slice of Americana, Phaedra Tretthan invites readers to connect via email at ptrethan@usatoday.com, or engage on social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) @wordsbyphaedra, BlueSky @byphaedra, and Threads @by_phaedra. This coverage originally appeared on USA TODAY, highlighting the captivating tale of how buttery artistry is melting hearts at the farm show.
