Tuesday, August 15, 2000

Pig Parade: Ms. Penciline

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Pencils make this swine look sharp

By Owen Findsen
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        Sharpen a pencil and the smell of fresh cut wood brings memories of school days. That's why Ms. Penciline is a pig to see and to sniff. It's the back-to-school pig.

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        Students collected and sharpened the pencils, but teachers Patrice Trauth and Amy Burton applied them to the pig skillfully to fit them to the rotund form and to shade the pig's body from light on top to dark at the bottom. The nose and eyebrows are eraser ends.

        Artists: Ursuline Academy students. Patrice Trauth and Amy Burton, art teachers.

        Sponsor: Ursuline Academy of Cincinnati.

        This pig's pen: Cincinnati Museum Center.

        You were inspired by: Pencils have long been symbolic of the academic experience.

        What's the pig idea? The whole surface is covered with pencils, about 10,000 of them, cut to different lengths.

        You want people to look at this pig and think: We would like them to think about the importance of self expression and about excellence in education.

        Completing the project took: Two months.

        What's the matter?: Pencils, about 10,000 of them and Liquid Nails to adhere them to the pig.

        Your high on the hog was: We put out a major call for pencils, tons and tons of pencils. We had parents, teachers, siblings and friends all collecting pencils.

        Pig peeve: Picking the Liquid Nails off our fingers every night.

        Best pig tale: We killed off three electric pencil sharpeners doing this.
       

        This is 108th in a series spotlighting pigs from the Big Pig Gig Public Art Project taking place in Cincinnati, Covington and Newport. Find past pig profiles at enquirer.com. Click on the Big Pig Gig icon.

       

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