September/October 2002- Islands Magazines, "Where the Buffalo Roam," by Allison Joyce pg 26

Its not odd to see buffalo dotting Catalina Island, which has its own herd. Bur flowered buffalo? That's different.

The animals in question, Buffaloha and Peri Bell, are just two of the 25 life-size bison sculptures in a wacky public art exhibit called "Buffalo in Paradise." The bovids arrived on the island in May and will decorate the streets of downtown Avalon until November 9, when they'll be auctioned off at a gala event to raise money for island charities.

Each buffalo was sponsored by Catalina business or organization, which selected an artist and a theme. Buffalo at Bat, dressed in a 1930s-era Chicago Cubs uniform and standing on its own baseball diamond, pays homage to the big-league team that used to train on the island. Subby the Water Buffalo, which greets visitors as they disembark from the ferry, was designed to look like a submarine. And Catalina Samsonite, painted brown and covered in Louis Vuitton-style logos of intertwined C's and I's, stands in front a shop on the main drag.

The cast-fiberglass buffalo were made "overtown" (Catalina-speak for "on the mainland") and delivered in February to island and mainland artists, who spent the next few months paintings and adorning their bison.

The finished works have been a hit with visitors, many of whom can't keep their hands off the art. Just a few hours after being positioned at the foot of Green Pier, Visiting Buffalo which artist Joan Ladd adorned as a stereotypical tourist (gaudy green shorts, a flowered shirt, and black socks) - had lost its camera and one of its bright white tennies to overzealous buffalo-huggers. Meanwhile, three teenage girls and their mother had to be gently reminded not to touch Catalina Nature Buff while posing for a souvenir snapshot. And to protect Miss Catalina TIle, artist Barbara Leone and her father (who made the curled eyelashes and the crown) placed a sign in front of the bikini clad "beauty queen" bison. It read: "I'm shy. Please don't touch me. You don't know me that well."

Some Artist were a bit worn out by getting their buffalo ready for prime time. After spending some 200 hours over tow months to create his Zane Grey-themed piece, Vanishing American, artist Jason Greene said, "If I had it to do over again, I'd paint the whole thing pink, put a hole in the top, and make it a big buffalo bank - that'd be easier.

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