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By Leighton McLaughlin, Editor Emeritus Originally printed in January, 2015 The striking sculptures on The Lodge grounds are the work of Gail Chavenelle, who employs a unique technique to create them. She began sculpting with paper. "I loved paper cutting and paper folding, but then I had children and they spilled milk on my work," she said. "I knew I needed something more permanent." Now she cuts her creations out of commercial sheet steel with a plasma torch and then shapes them with her hands, pliers and leather hammers into three-dimensional statues. Her background, a bachelor's degree in English literature and a master's in computer education, would not seem preparation to become a sculptor. But with the help of artist friends and a "generous blacksmith," she became one. She uses either stainless steel because it won't rust, or mild sheet steel that is coated with a powder and heated in an oven to prevent rust. This "powder finish" is similar to the finish on outdoor equipment like lawn mowers or golf carts. Her work is equally at home indoors or outside exposed to the elements. She gradually graduated from paper to sheet steel and plasma cutting. Her first metal sculptures were made from metal flashing because it could be cut with scissors, but it wasn't very sturdy. She experimented with heavier metal, cutting it with a welder's torch or heavy shears — then an "engineer friend" told her about plasma technique. "It makes a much thinner, finer line," she said. She begins with a flat sheet of metal. "I use different thicknesses," depending on the size of sculpture, she said. Then she draws an outline on the sheet with a magic marker. "I buy the markers when the kids go back to school and they're cheap," she said. Using the outline she cuts out the basic form then shapes it into its final, three-dimensional, curvilinear configuration. Many of her works are from a single sheet of metal. "I think of them as permanent paper," she said. Her pieces on the Four Seasons Lodge grounds portray the seasons of winter and summer, a strolling pair of lovers, marriage, birds, butterflies, and other natural beauties. All of them have a human figure at the center, but Chavenelle, of Dubuque, Iowa, also depicts animals. "I love horses, the line becomes hair, the tail and the mane." "I love the curl as the strips of metal become wild hair. I am awed as a turn of a metal head creates an intimate moment between lovers or parent and child. It is my joy to speak with a metal voice." FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | FEBRUARY 2026 15 By Regina Farmer • •• • • • • • - Art Sculptures at The Lodge