For artist Chris Provenzano, the biggest challenge in sculpting an 8-foot-tall statue for public enjoyment was lugging around a 9,000-pound slab of Peruvian travertine.

"From concept to installation, it took eight sleepless months to complete this work," said Provenzano, whose public art project, "The Business of Bees," is on permanent display at Ojai Valley Business Park, 407 Circle Drive.

"This was a challenging, very difficult piece to put together with all the elements," Provenzano said. "The craftsmanship is magnificent, and the colors make you happy. We need more art that makes us happy."

The sculpture intended for public enjoyment was inspired by the city of Ojai, which required that the business park install a public art piece, said Reese Garza, who works for Ted Moore of E.F. Moore & Co., developer of Ojai Valley Business Park.

"So we opened a competition to the public in order to get a larger pool of artist candidates from which to draw," said Garza, the project manager who worked directly with Provenzano on her project. "We sent a request for qualifications to 21 artists and received 12 responses of interest. From those 12, we chose two to interview, and then chose Chris because of her design ideas."

Provenzano has worked as a commercial sculptor making stylized animals for amusement parks. She was employed for many years by a novelty manufacturer where she created original clay animals, Halloween props and masks to be reproduced in vinyl or foam-filled latex.

Her affiliations include Focus on the Masters, Santa Barbara Art Association, Santa Barbara Sculptors' Guild, San Buenaventura Artists' Union and Ventura College Friends of the Arts.

For her sculpture in Ojai, Provenzano attempted to reflect her interest in current issues.

"I had been thinking a lot about colony collapse disorder with all the honeybees dying," she said.

When she received the request for art in public places, "I was drawn in by the fact that they required the art to have a theme; they wanted something historical or dealing with matters of Ojai," Provenzano said. "I thought about the honeybees' relationship with the orange blossom, honey. The office park's logo is an orange, so I got to produce a piece about the honeybee."

A collaborative effort

With help from sculptor Paul Lindhard, founder of Art City in Ventura, Provenzano created an 8-by-6-foot piece made of Peruvian travertine, calcite, bronze bees and leaves.

"Since my studio is at Art City, I discussed the design with Paul and he offered to work with me on the piece," she said. "Since he has such talents with large stone sculptures, we did the sculpture together."

When E.F. Moore & Co. saw Provenzano's idea, "we were very excited because it went so well with the theme of our park," Garza said. "The location of the business park is where the old citrus packinghouses were and the landscaping at the park is primarily citrus."

The large travertine is representative of both a honeycomb, a chunk of honey or a part of a tree, Provenzano explained.

"Working with stone is magical, because here you have a piece of history from the earth and you are fortunate enough to interact with it, something maybe 500 million years old," said Provenzano, who is passionate about "shaping, polishing, showing off all the marvelous qualities of a stone — something most people don't have an opportunity to appreciate.

"It's, for me, kind of like working with my ancient ancestors."

A very tactile piece'

The sculpture combines two types of stone plus bronze and glass. It required tremendous calculations, design adjustments and the assistance of several talented artists, crane operators and a welder, Provenzano said.

"This was a magnificent accomplishment by all involved," she said. "It takes more than one artist to make a splendid piece of art."

To have art on display in public places gives people an opportunity to see the works of different artists that they might not otherwise see, Garza said.

"We are enjoying the piece immensely — it is located right outside our building — and it is fun to watch people as they come up to the piece and admire it and touch it," Garza said. "It is a very tactile piece and very eye-catching."