By KAREN BINDER
Illinois Correspondent

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Sculptress Sharon BuMann slathered the butter on extra thick this year.

The New York artist created this year’s butter cow for the Illinois State Fair, which has become a star of the fair since the first one in the 1920s. Taking up residence in a rotating refrigerator case was Bossie, who broke through her fence to get to the corn bucket on the other side.

This creamy vignette took nearly a week and 800 pounds of unsalted butter to create, as well as a set of disposable winter clothing from the Salvation Army for BuMann weather the cold case. She has to throw away the clothes because there’s no way to get all the oil and butter out of them.

Also helping the life-size creation take shape was a wire and wooden form. After the fair, the butter was to be carefully remoo-ved and reused in another sculpture.

Among Bossie’s visitors was Mercy Plasencia of Chicago. “It’s unbelievable. We looked online and we know it’s been around since the 1920s,” Plasencia said. “The detailing is amazing. It was definitely worth the four-hour drive. It’s beautiful.”

When asked what specifically impressed her about the sculpture, she said she was utterly impressed with “the behind of the cow” because it was very detailed. (Bossie was clearly a dairy cow.)

BuMann set the scene to this year’s fair theme, “Cream of the Crop,” and specifically worked in corn. Last year’s theme celebrated Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, so the butter cow sculpture featured a lounging Lincoln reading a book in a pasture, with the butter cow nearby.

This display is not BuMann’s first show of artistic talent at the fair. She’s “milked” the opportunity since 2004 and has been doing butter sculptures for eight years at fairs in New York, Texas, Oklahoma and other states.

Norma “Duffy” Lyon sculpted Illinois’ cow for 32 years, but she quit after the 2002 fair because of health problems. Lyon recommended BuMann for the job. BuMann lives near Syracuse, N.Y., doing more traditional sculptures, such as busts and public monuments.

“The best part is that Sharon is such a wonderful artist, and she takes our theme and runs with it,” Fair Manager Amy Bliefnick said in a statement.

Bossie lived in the Dairy Building, where visitors could view the sculpture along with displays of the dairy blue ribbon winners. Children also played educational games and everyone could enjoy an ice cream shop also offering yogurt and fresh milk.