I have a topiary made from a climbing ivy. It's beautiful, BUT...for some reason the ivy on the lower portion, gets coated with some sort of stick substance. It is so prevalant that the dish it sits on also has this sticky substance all over it. After I clean it, it's back in about 2-3 weeks.

Your plant has some kind of pest, possibly spidermites, which love ivy and a dry atmosphere. You may see very fine webbing within the undersides of the leaves.You'll need to spray ALL of the plant, including under the leaves with a solution of either dish water feeling soapy water, or one part alcohol and 8-9 parts water. Get every inch of the plant so it's dripping wet with the spray. Do this once a week for at least three to four weeks over a sink or outside in the shade to try and kill them all off, then you'll need to watch after that. I would cover the soil first.
When you regularly water your ivy, water the leaves good as well, this will help combat any more pest that might come along.