Brooklyn artist Deborah Masters, having just returned from her most recent trip to work on her house in Italy, is ready to have her sculptures, what she calls "Spirits," become a part of Ellenville's 10x10x10 art event, set to open this Sunday.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Masters, now 56, has been studying and creating art for a long time, starting in her college days at Bryn Mawr in Philadelphia, where she earned her BFA. From there, she went on to pursue her graduate work "at a time when everybody didn't get master's degrees," says the artist. "I went for three years to graduate school," she continues, "but it just was a studio thing. It's called the New York Studio School, where I went. It's just drawing, painting and sculpture. I did that for three years, and then one of my teachers said 'you've got to go to Greece or Italy and learn about light for sculpture!'"

Following her teacher's advice, Masters made a deal with one of her art history professors to go along to Italy and act as both caregiver for her baby as well as her research assistant. The artist credits this year and a half spent in Italy as just as important and educational as her time spent in school. "My degree in college was in fine arts, but also in medieval art and art history, which is reflected in my work. That's how my art career began when I was very young, so I came back and lived in Brooklyn and had a studio here."

By press time, many of the exhibits for 10x10x10 ought to be up, or in the process of construction, and one of Masters' two displays is no exception. "[It's] an outdoor piece," she says of her set of sculptures, "which is [on display] adjacent to what used to be an Agway Feed store and is now a bar. It's on the side of that where all the white eye beams stick out." Describing her "Spirits," Masters says that the decision to keep them outside was made in order to add to their effect. "I always wanted to see them outside because of what happens when they blow in the wind. They're big, probably about 12 feet tall. They're big heads with shoulders and drapery. Originally they were meant to be portraits of people I admired who had died, but they've morphed into people who are dead or living who I've admired intellectually."

However, with art comes risk, and Masters' piece is no exception. "I'm kind of interested to see if they get vandalized," she says with humor in her voice. "They're actually in the dog pen that's associated with the feed store, so I'm hoping they're protected enough that they'll just have to fight against the weather, and I'm interested to see how that goes." Hopefully, Masters' "Spirits" will survive the elements long enough for viewers to catch them at the 10x10x10 opening on Sunday, scheduled from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Canal Street.

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