Joseph Schneider Lady Liberty Sculpture

During the past seven months, artist Joseph Schneider reached a level of familiarity with the Statue of Liberty most Americans don't approach in a lifetime.

He created a half-scale, 13-foot-tall translucent green sculpture of her head.

Now his creation, "Speaking to Liberty," will take Corbett's biggest stage Sunday, when a green, Vietnam-era Army jeep will push Lady Liberty past an expected crowd of 20,000 in the town's 39th annual July Fourth Parade.

Schneider spent countless hours filling her wire facial structure and skull with fiberglass and resin. He drilled and hammered and welded her base and crown. And he bolted and screwed metal scaffolding together to support it all.

But for Schneider, the intimate months with Lady Liberty were about more than contributing to the local parade. The work caused him to think about freedom -- what it means to him as an artist who left New York one day before the Sept. 11 attacks. And what it means to him as the son of a soldier who fought in World War II -- for Germany.

Beyond his contribution and thoughts, he also found a way for the people of Corbett, from schoolchildren to retirees, to explore what liberty means to them. On his float, dozens of multicolored flags will trail behind the statue -- little portraits of what area residents think about America on the Fourth.

"This piece is almost like two big projects in one," Schneider said. "I think of the sculpture as the body and the flags as the soul."

A continent away
On a recent sun-baked June afternoon, Schneider sat in his studio, reflecting on the work behind him. He wore a plain blue T-shirt, khaki shorts and Tevas. He's easygoing and thoughtful, with a laugh that echoes around his studio.

Dozens of the multicolored cloth flags hung behind him on long laundry lines hiding the back wall. The jeep, straight out of "M*A*S*H," was parked across from Lady Liberty.

Nine years ago, the 50-year-old, who had spent 16 years in the New York art world, moved to Corbett.

He and his wife, Debbie, moved in on Sept. 10, 2001. They woke up the next morning to a phone call from friends they just left behind, with news of the 9/11 attacks.

"It's always been kind of strange," Schneider said.

But Corbett became home -- "This is a special place," he says -- and years later Sept. 11 would help form "Speaking to Liberty" in Schneider's mind.

"I tried to hang onto something very innocent or pre-9/11," Schneider said. "I think a lot of artists have worked hard to preserve what has been destroyed and lost since."

Schneider found more inspiration -- the way Corbett residents reacted to him as an artist new to the area. They'd ask what he planned for the parade. Kids on the school bus he drives asked the same.

He started to see the parade as an art happening far removed from New York City.

"I thought it was this beautiful expression of something we call 'small-town America,' which doesn't exist in some places anymore," Schneider said. "But it was here."

The parade challenge churned in his mind. How could he create an artistic and imaginative float that was still accessible to a small-town audience?

After a conversation with a neighbor, Schneider realized another important truth about community in America.

"People that just work every day and struggle to survive, we all seem to get along, no matter what our differences are," he said. "I think that's really wonderful, and it's reality. At least it's the reality that I know."

After a series of designs -- and a grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council -- Schneider dove into 12-hour workdays. The sculpture began taking its current form.

As he sat in the studio recently, a friend, Sarah Grigsby, stopped by. She walked in the door, and the flags stopped her short.

"Oh my God, unbelievable," said Grigsby, a former grade school art teacher who helped Schneider coordinate flag-making sessions in schools.

One flag stands out in Grigsby's mind among the usual peace signs, American flags and military icons. A student chose a white cloth flag and drew three question marks.

The student explained, "I have a lot of questions about liberty."

"I loved that," Grigsby said.

Histories come together
Jerry Yoder, a volunteer at the Columbia Grange food bank, has been a regular parade attendee for 30 years. It's been an integral part of her life. Now her two children, both in their 30s, try to come back every year. This year, her son can't make it -- he was just deployed by the Coast Guard.

She made a flag this year at a session with Schneider's wife, Debbie, who also volunteers at Columbia Grange.

"There's a lot of community spirit involved in Joe and Debbie's project," Yoder said.

When residents and others from miles around gather Sunday, they'll celebrate at the parade and Fun Festival afterward at the Corbett school complex. This year's theme is "Remember our Heroes," commemorating the town's service members and veterans.

Schneider said wars have come up a lot around Lady Liberty. Some have asked hard questions both for and against America's wars.

It's caused him to reflect on his family's own military history. The classic generational progression from soldier to schoolteacher to artist happened in the Schneider family. His father, who wasn't a Nazi, fought for the Germans in World War II but studied at Washington State as a prisoner of war under the Marshall Plan. He met his wife, a teacher, and they raised the family in Spokane.

Now Schneider as an artist embraces freedom of expression -- maybe more than most.

Sunday morning, though, artistic exploration will be the last thing on his mind. Schneider -- who will hang from a climbing harness in Lady Liberty's scaffold, waving the points of her crown -- will be consumed with mechanical and safety challenges.

"I'm scared to death," Schneider said.

But when the time arrives, he'll clip into the scaffold and -- combining art, patriotism, family and community -- take his artistic place in Corbett.

The 39th Annual Corbett July Fourth Parade
When: Sunday, 11 a.m.
Where: Along the Historic Columbia River Highway from Springdale to Corbett
Getting there: Take the Columbia River Highway out of Troutdale, or take the Corbett exit off Interstate 84. But arrive early -- both the historic highway and the Corbett exit close at 9:30 a.m.

The 39th Annual Corbett Fun Festival and Fireworks
When: 1 p.m. to dusk
Where: Corbett school grounds
Admission: $5 per person for music, fun zone and fireworks
Activities: Family-friendly crafts, games, car show, root-beer garden, face painting, food vendors and more