Stone sculptor is part of ‘amazing’ Midwest Salute to the Arts

There’s no better place for Paul Bayer than City Museum in St. Louis.

The stone sculptor and museum employee shares the philosophy that art should not only be viewed but often touched. One of his current projects is turning a 20-ton block of white marble into a sculpture that kids can climb on.

“This is the wing span of the phoenix, and these are his tail feathers,” Paul said, pointing to one section that’s close to being finished. “And over here is a little boy who’s helping the phoenix rise up out of the ashes.”

Not all of Paul’s sculptures are gargantuan. People can see smaller pieces at the Midwest Salute to the Arts this weekend in Fairview Heights.

Paul is one of 100 artists from all over the country who have been invited to show and sell their work in Moody Park. Hours are 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.

Mediums range from clay and glass to jewelry and mixed media, drawing and printmaking to wood and fine craft, oil and acrylics to photography, sculpture and watercolor.

“The artists bring amazing pieces every year,” said Director Sharon Kassing. “They just astound me with their creativity. We ask them to submit four pieces (for judging), so the website is only a sampling of what’s in the show.”

The art fair also will feature live music on two stages, including a first-time appearance Saturday by Starlifter, the pop group of the renowned U.S. Air Force Band of Mid-America.

As usual, there will be art and craft demonstrations by the Artisan Guild of Southern Illinois, Gateway East Artists Guild and Belleville Woodcarvers.

Kid hotspots are the Creation Station with its hands-on projects and the Children’s Gallery, where ages 3 to 11 can shop on their own and buy a piece of artwork for $5.

“They get the piece that speaks to them,” Sharon said. “And then we encourage them to visit the artist that created the piece, talk to them a little and see how the piece was made. The artists love talking to the kids. They absorb so much. They’re like sponges.”

Paul, 59, of Affton, Mo., has been participating in the Salute for about 20 years. He’s getting extra visibility this year because one of his sculptures is featured on programs, posters and billboards.

The 18-inch-tall abstract piece called “Abyss” won the Arts Council Choice Award at last year’s show. A Saturn-like oval ring around a sphere is made of green, brown and tan onyx from the Andes Mountains.

“I like the movement, the colors,” Sharon said. “You can turn it around in all directions and it looks completely different.”

Paul grew up in Webster Groves, Mo. He carved wood and clay as a teenager but decided to try his hand at stone after watching “The Agony and the Ecstasy,” a 1965 movie with Charlton Heston starring as Michelangelo.

Paul went straight to ArtMart and found its $100 hammer and chisel sets on sale for half price.

“In a family of six children, $100 was astronomical, and $50 wasn’t exactly chicken feed,” he said. “So I asked my parents if I could have one for my birthday and Christmas.”

Paul carved stone sculptures — mostly animals, birds and abstracts — on the side while working as a commercial and residential painter for 15 years. Then he turned his hobby into a business, traveling to art shows and teaching at summer symposiums in Colorado.

Paul rented space in a monument-company shop for a while before moving into an old building owned by City Museum founder Bob Cassilly.

“One day, he asked me if I could set stone,” said Paul, who began working at the museum 15 years ago, building its original castle.

Today, Paul is an in-house stonemason and stone carver whose work can be seen throughout the building and grounds. Projects range from reassembling salvaged terra-cotta to carving figures, laying tiles and making tabletops and counters.

Paul sticks around the dusty stone shop at night and on weekends to create his own sculptures, mostly abstract pieces but also busts of people and mythical creatures.

“I’ve made wizards for Dent Wizard and eagles for the Boy Scouts,” he said.

Paul’s mediums are marble, onyx, calcite, fluorite, alabaster and granite. His tools are electric saws and grinders but also hammers, chisels, files and sandpaper.

“Because of the way (stones are) formed, you have to use different tools,” he said. “With hard, brittle stones, you can’t use percussion.”

Paul smooths and polishes most surfaces but likes to leave a stone’s original roughness or texture in some areas so people can see “how it came off the mountain.”

Every piece seems to have a story, theory or philosophy. One example is a 6-foot-tall sculpture called “Ocean View” that started as an 8,000-pound block of white marble.

“It’s two seashells dancing, but they’ve taken on a human form,” Paul said, reflecting the idea that all life came from the ocean. “There’s going to be waves splashing up from the bottom.”

Prices on his work range from $200 to $4,000, depending on time, materials, etc.

The 6-by-6-by-7-foot phoenix climbing sculpture will stay at City Museum, even though Paul works on it in his free time.

One corner features an image of the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis, known as a protector of children. The little boy helping the phoenix rise is patterned off Paul’s 5-year-old grandson, Hayden. Paul and his wife, Jackie, have three children.

“I’ve been carving for 40 years, and I only know of a handful of people who have carved anything this big,” he said. “My next biggest piece was only eight tons, and it was not really my piece. I worked on it with another guy.”

This story was originally published August 24, 2016 at 12:53 PM with the headline "Stone sculptor is part of ‘amazing’ Midwest Salute to the Arts."