Cathy Erdmann Sculptures

Ursa Minor

Yes, I'm already thinking of Christmas!  Saturday at the Farmer's Market I came across a wonderful little book, written by Tad Bear.  "A Bear's Tale", is a Native American nativity story about why the bears in the night sky, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, have long tails and how they relate to the birth of Jesus Christ.

Of course, my imagination went wild and I decided I had to sculpt a little bear to give as a gift along with the book.  These little bears will be cast in marble resin (white) and made into an ornament to hang on the Christmas tree.  A small rhinestone will be set in the end of the tail to represent the North Star.

Off to the Mold Maker

After a couple of adjustments the orphan is finished!  Darin suggested the lips be smaller and the left hand be changed to match the drawing a little closer.  These small details make a big difference and her hand now portrays "determination" rather than "resignation".

Throughout the next month you will be able to follow along and watch as this sculpture passes through the hands of many artists and turns from clay to bronze.

This is Sam, the mold maker.  Today the sculpture gets coat number one of rubber.  Over the next few days several more coats of rubber will be applied.

The brush cannot be used to force the rubber into the delicate facial features, so air is blown into the face to make sure the rubber will pick up all the details without distorting anything.

This Week's Project

This week I decided to finish up the orphan sculpture.  I still have some work on the hands and feet, but this is very close to finished.  For the lacy effect at the bottom of her dress, I pressed a piece of lace into the clay.  I think it will look awesome cast in bronze with a patina that shows off all the interesting textures.  As I said in a previous post, this sculpture was inspired by a drawing of Darin Ashby's.

Another Work in Progress

I just wanted to share another work in progress.  This sculpture is based on a drawing by my friend, Darin Ashby, and is of an orphan from Uganda.  At first I was unsure about doing a sculpture depicting sadness, but my hope is that it will impress upon us the need to open our hearts and help at whatever level we can to repair our world.

Women in Scripture

For some time now I've wanted to do a series of "women in scripture." I thought Eve would be appropriate to start with and so here is my work in progress.  My goal is to portray her contemplating the choice she is about to make and therefore the title of this sculpture, "Choices."