A Tale of Two Artists

Imagine an SUV flowing along the Kansas highways in the early morning sunlight -- on its way to a distant county, a small town, and an unforgettable experience.

Well, as I hoped, I got another opportunity to work with the well-known visual storyteller Larry Hatteberg. And this week our story was in Lucas, Kansas -- the quiet monument to several different forms of artistry. This sanctuary of creativity is peacefully snuggled in the heart of Kansas' Rolling Hills and the famous "Post Rock" country.

Larry had been in touch with an artist who was originally from California, but had come to Lucas, Kansas to sculpt faces, figures, and other designs into the limestones used as post rocks (which are limestone rocks that are used for fence posts, since they're so abundant).

Our artist was Fred Whitman of Ojai, California. He had been a dentist for several years, and it was actually in dentistry school when he first began carving and sculpting. He loved it so much, he left his practice at one point to work full-time as a sculpting artist, carving images of women, flowers, and children into stone for garden-type decor. A few years ago, he was introduced to the Kansas limestone, and loved the fluidity of the stone and how easy it was to work with it.

So, he decided, he had to come and see the Kansas limestone and "Post Rock" Country for himself. He said he came last summer and carved the images of people and sunflowers into two separate limestone post rocks.

Every day, he told us, when he was working on the projects, he would drive from Lucas a few miles south and set his "studio" up right there on the side of the highway, as he carved his artwork into the timeless stone fence posts. He said he hoped his art would last forever. And, he enjoyed the natural landscape as his workspace.

During the 2.5 hour drive to Lucas, which is northwest of Russell, Larry and I talked about everything from storm-chasing to film and from the landmarks of Kansas to general life lessons. When we arrived in Lucas, which is a typical Rolling Hills small town, Mr. Whitman was hard at work on his latest experience with Kansas limestone.

He was commissioned to sculpt an image of Sen. Bob Dole, a Russell native, which (when completed) will be displayed in the Russell Country courthouse. I could see in the sketch that it would feature his signature hair, his pearly-white smile, and his purple heart medal.

After Larry filmed him chiseling away at Bob Dole's figure in the stone, which -- like all of his art -- he was making by hand, he took us a few miles south of Lucas and showed us his the two post rock masterpieces he had carved away last summer.

If you were to simply drive by one of them, unless you knew what you were looking for and you were looking sharp, you can see the outline of a beautiful female face, with flowing hair and a decor of Kansas sunflowers framing her distinct features.

"I called it a 'she,'" Mr. Whitman said at one point, referring to the rock. "It's not an 'it' anymore."

And he was right. The carvings had a certain ebb and flow to them, just like the ebb and flow of the gliding hills they stood upon. He worked with the stone, he said, not against it. And sometimes he tried to envision what or who the stone was supposed to be -- almost as if the stone had a destiny, a shape that it was meant to become.

As Larry and I discussed later, Mr. Whitman had many wonderful things to say. I know that Larry will have a full array of amazing "sound bites" (as they are called in the industry) to choose from for the story.

My favorite soundbite that Mr. Whitman gave us was when Larry asked him about the differences between the landscapes of California and Kansas.

Mr. Whitman said he loved the "softness" of the Kansas prairie, the way the wind moved the grasses along the plains and how it was a nice change from the jaggedness and rocky terrain of California's beaches and mountains.

After saying our goodbyes, we left Mr. Whitman, Bob Dole, Lucas, and Russell County behind and turned toward the wind-mill spotted route back to Wichita.

As we drove back, I asked Larry more about his time at the station, his stories on "Hatteberg's People," and how he decided on which stories he wanted to cover.

"I like to be around people with great talent," he said, "because I feel like I can learn from them."

Well, I suppose today's story was just what Larry had envisioned then: a talented artist who had an interesting story doing visually attractive things.

But the best part of the story was Mr. Whitman's passion for his art.

"I'm always happiest whenever I'm doing this," he said as he was chipping away at Bob Dole's face.

And that was something that I think Larry, and all artists in general, would agree with.

Of course, it's work. It's hard sometimes. There are obstacles to overcome, budgets to meet, people to impress, and many more demands.

But, it's art.

It's what they both love doing, in their own respective ways.

And, that's my story of the two artists. I hope that I learned something today, because I was around two very talented people.

You Learn Something New Every Day

Throughout the last week and a half at KAKE-TV, I have learned a lot of useful things... and not just about the broadcasting business. Last Tuesday, I followed two 4th of July-related stories; last Thursday, I learned about weather and the aircraft industry; and today, I learned about the usefulness of CPR and how its important to learn to swim.

Here are some general things I learned over the last week:

1. Firework stands do not shoot off all of the left-over fireworks. They box up the un-opened packages and send them back to the distributors. The large packages that have been opened are stored for next year.
2. Do not call 911 to submit lame firecracker complaints. It clogs up the system, and real emergencies can't get through.
3. If you are calling 911 for a legitimate emergency, but you get a busy signal, flag down or get a hold of a cop to call in dispatch for you.
4. Dual-polarization RADAR systems are amazing! They are able to scan clouds, tornado, etc. more accurately because they scan both horizontally and vertically. They can even tell what is debris being blown around by a tornado... or a flock of birds. Compared to our Doppler RADAR, this is going to be infinitely better. Wichita's going to be one of the first cities in the U.S. to get one, because we have such weird weather.
5. When aircraft companies have contract negotiations, they have to have "opening statements," where both the employment company and the union representatives detail publicly what exactly they want to put in the contract. But, even though they have differences, they can be brought together by a bad economy and a certain politician's remarks about their industry.
6. People do use CPR in real life. Swimming is also generally important; and it's best to learn it young. So, if you were ever to learn two things in life: learn to swim and learn CPR.

Also, a general announcement, this will be my last regular post until July 26, as I will be on vacation. However, I hope to have a special post tomorrow night! Keep looking for more updates.

Stay cool, everyone!