Each year at the New York State Fair, artists create a massive butter sculpture, bringing dairy to life. The finished product is on display for all to see, but behind the scenes, it takes a lot of work.

This year’s theme is "Dairy: Good for you. Good for the planet." What goes into making a buttery masterpiece like this? For the last 21 years, the NYS Fair has been turning to the same source for their sculpture.

What You Need To Know

  • Marie Pelton and Jim Victor are the faces behind the annual butter sculpture at the New York State Fair

  • While sculpting, the fridge is 60 degrees. and when finished, its 40 degrees

  • They add food coloring and butter to a large mixer to create the colored butter in the sculpture

“It's always been fun. It's work, but it's fun,” said Jim Victor.

“Using close to 1,000 pounds of butter and it really is a two-person sculpture,” said Marie Pelton.

Not many people would sign up to work in a giant 60-degree refrigerator for hours every day, but that’s what Victor and Pelton do for each butter sculpture.

“It’s temperature controlled because butter is so temperature sensitive. If you get the temperature just right, it acts like clay. And that's how we do it. We model them just like you're modeling clay,” said Victor.

One of the essential tools for butter sculpting is gloves.

“Your hands will melt the butter too quickly. Sometimes you want to melt it, sometimes you want to massage the butter. And Marie particularly does that, massage it, so you get it to the consistency you want and then applying it, or sometimes we just keep it outside in a warmer condition and bring it in and it's softer,” said Victor.

Working under a deadline to create the finished piece for fairgoers.

“It's really such a compressed time, the frame that we have to work with. And so we spend ten days in the booth and, eight hours a day, if not more,” said Pelton.

A butter sculpture starts with an idea, then a sketch, then making a support structure called an armature.

“And they're generally made of metal, pipe and mesh. Sometimes they're made of wood and sometimes foam, whatever is easiest, whatever's best,” said Pelton.

Don’t think you’ll get a sneak peek before they’re finished. The final product is kept secret until the big reveal.

“And that's really kind of its purpose almost, is to educate and tell a story,” said Pelton.

“I think it's well worth it because it's always well received here. And that's one of the reasons why we really enjoy coming back,” said Pelton.

The sculptors said it’s essentially butter season and a busy time of year for them. They’ve already moved on to their next project.

If you’re thinking you want to go in the sculpture’s cooler on a hot day, think again. It may be 60 degrees while they’re sculpting, but it drops to a chilly 40 degrees once it's finished.

Sometimes they add color to a sculpture and to do that, they add butter and food coloring to a large mixer.