A real head trip

By Diane Daniel, Globe Correspondent, 12/22/02

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On their recent travels in Greece and Sicily, sculptor Stephan Smith and his girlfriend, Liesle Trimnell, had a companion: Hygeia, a 45-pound marble head that Smith had re-created from a classic Greek antiquity.

Hygeia was the result of a study trip that reignited Smith's passion for sculpture. A self-professed computer geek (he is a freelance Web developer) and artist, Smith, 32, had studied sculpting in the Tuscany region of Italy five years ago. He was drawn to the course in Greece because it was at a much smaller studio with more personal attention. So in August, he headed to Tinos, a small island in the Cyclades about four hours by boat from Athens and not far from touristy Mykonos, to spend a month at Dellatolas Marble Carving Studios (www.tinosmarble.com).

A few weeks later Trimnell, 34, joined him for 10 days, after which they traveled to Athens, Delphi, and Sicily. They took Hygeia, now the focal point of their small Beacon Hill living room, every step of the way.

"We were given a quote of between $300 to $500 to ship her, and it would take six months to arrive. Also, no antiquities are allowed to leave Greece, so she would have to be certified by an archeologist," said Trimnell, who works for a caterer and is a writer. "So I thought, you know what, we're going to take her with us."

So for three weeks, the trio traveled via one taxi, two buses, three boats, and six trains, most of that on the trip from Delphi to Sicily.

Smith worked on the sculpture all month, using an ancient technique called pointing. He learned it from his Greek instructor, whose American wife translated. "It allows you to do an exact copy in 3D of a sculpture," Smith said, though he added that the method is considered "gauche" by many artists. But to Smith, it gives the working sculptor a way to more quickly make pieces and be able to succeed financially "instead of being a starving artist."

The original "Head of Hygeia," the Greek goddess of health, is dated 360 BC and is at the National Museum in Athens. To create a museum-level copy, Smith first molded it in clay from another copy at the Tinos studio, then made a plaster mold, then sculpted it in marble using control points on the plaster mold. "I had to really hustle to finish in four weeks."

When he wasn't in the studio, Smith was exploring cafes and tavernas, and swimming off one of the island's many warm rock beaches.

Though Tinos, with about 8,000 residents, has few international tourists, it is a pilgrimage site for Orthodox Greeks who believe it to be a holy place.

Smith and Trimnell, with Hygeia in tow, then visited Athens and Delphi. In Athens, they saw the original head at the National Museum and visited the Acropolis.

"It was just before closing and it had rained," Smith said. "Only 10 people were up there. It was amazing."

In Sicily, they had rented (though Interhome.com) a villa in Catania, on the eastern side of the island, and invited friends from the United States and Europe to visit.

The couple had planned to visit Switzerland the final week, but at the last minute decided to visit Vulcano and Lipari, two of the seven Eolie Islands just north of Sicily.

"They were amazing," Trimnell said. "Vulcano has three volcanos. One is still active but hasn't erupted since the late 1800s. The island wasn't inhabited until about 30 years ago, when some sheep farmers started going there."

Smith hopes to return to the Tinos studio next summer. As for Hygeia, Trimnell organized a party for friends to see the piece. She and Smith loved the response of an Italian friend. "He went right up to her and said, `Ah, bella,' and gave her a kiss on the cheek," she said.

Send suggestions to ddaniel@globe.com.