EPHRAIM-- Snow College art professor Brad Taggart has worked for months on the 12-foot sculpture of Lorenzo and Erastus Snow that will stand outside the Snow College Library.

The monument depicts the college's namesakes gazing into the distance. Bearded Lorenzo gently rests a hand on his counterpart's back as clean-shaven Erastus extends an arm forward.

When the artwork is finished and cast in bronze, it will be set for display outside the main entrance of the new campus library. The backs of the subjects will be towards the entrance of library, while the figures face across the courtyard to the Noyes Administration Building.

Sculpting is a painstaking process, scraping the dimensions of a shirtsleeve can occupy a whole day. "I tell my art students that the more advanced they get, the more they have to be researchers," said Taggart.

Taggart claims the work is "better than halfway" finished, It is his personal goal to finish the sculpture by the end of the year. Without any administration directive for completion, he admits that the self-imposed schedule is tentative.

Noted 19th century leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Snows, separated by five generations in kinship, were known for their shared love of education. Their attitude reflects the principles of the LDS Church, which at the time was establishing institutions of learning across the territory.

The pose is hypothetical. Erastus died in 1888, when Sanpete Stake Academy, the original name of the institution, was founded. Years later, when school officials approached Lorenzo for permission to rename the school in his honor, he consented only under conditions that the name "Snow" also pay tribute to Erastus.

Erastus is also depicted holding a book, the cover facing inwards as if to suggest that its contents could be either academic or religious.

Taggart references an entire board filled with photos to complete his work, including copies of what few images exist of the Snows. Because there are no known records of their respective heights, Taggart has sculpted the two men equally tall to signify Lorenzo's desire that they be equally yoked in the school's name.

His personal feelings? "I'm obsessed with it," he confesses, acknowledging that he has to force himself to walk away from every sculpting session. This art, however, will be around for a long time to come.

The casting will be completed by Adonis Bronze, Alpine, which Taggart claims is "the best company in Utah" for their line of work.

Taggart has worked on this project in the Humanities Building with unopposed liberty. Snow College President Scott Wyatt offered no specifics when he commissioned him to create a monument dedicated to the founders. Every so often, Wyatt will step into the studio, examine the sculpture and offer a gentle smile, but there has never been hindrance.

A member of the Snow College Art Department since 1994, Taggart was previously commissioned to paint a portrait of original school president Alfred Noyes, a work which now hangs in the president's suite. He decided to be a professional artist early in his college career, though his memories of creating artwork stretch back to "pushing clay around" as a child.