Norma Lyon, the "butter cow lady" whose sculptures were a primary Iowa State Fair attraction for decades, died of a stroke early Sunday.
posted by Foam Pants on Jun 27, 2011 - 31 comments

It's nearly state fair time and you know what that means - Butter Sculptures! Yes, year after year several fairs contract with artists to sculpt meltable works of art. Perhaps the most famous is the Iowa State Butter Cow, carved year after year since the early 1900s. Of course, with butter art comes rivalry. Not to be outdone, state fairs in Minnesota, Texas, New York...oh, the list is long...each display these chilled masterpieces. However, this year Iowa has taken the rivalry to a new level and not without controversy - The Iowa State Fair has decided that this year they will do a Butter Michael Jackson.
posted by Muddler on Jul 2, 2009 - 23 comments

Visitors to the current Illinois State Fair have the opportunity to see an American classic, the Butter Cow. This year's cow was sculpted over two days by Nancy Wise. You can watch the construction or live shots of its admiring public at the Butter Cow Cam. [more inside]
posted by Songdog on Aug 8, 2003 - 22 comments

Butter sculptures can be rather elaborate, and are a folk art favorite at country fairs in the U.S. And on the other side of the globe in the ancient Himalayas, butter sculpting is an ancient symbolic tradition among Tibetan Buddhists, and is also an integral part of annual festivals and celebrations.
But in other dairy art, cheese sculptures haven't achieved quite the same level of dignity.
thanks to Wordforge for the Jim Victor link.
posted by madamjujujive on Oct 23, 2002 - 14 comments