By Tim Wenzl

Diocesan Archvist

The terra cotta sculpture of St. Isidore, the farmer, and his wife, St. Maria de la Cabeza, arrived recently in time for the first diocesan anniversary Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Bishop Gilmore asked the congregation to take notice of this latest piece of sacred art in the ambulatory. He said the sculpture was not only significant because St. Isidore is the patron saint of farming, but it depicts a canonized married couple.

Linda Dabeau, an artist from Albuquerque, N.M., was commissioned to create the sculpture. In the following interview she shares some insight into how this latest work of sacred art was created.

Southwest Kansas Register: Do you recall how you were selected to create the sculpture of St. Isidore and St. Maria?

Linda Dabeau: As I recall, members of the parish community had seen an advertisement I placed in the Arts in Environment magazine and they contacted me to begin the process.

SKR: What is the medium of the sculpture?

LD: I was asked to create St. Isidore and St. Maria out of terra cotta clay as they sought material from the earth that was also unique. Because of the size of the sculptures I had to look for a sturdier clay such as terra cotta paper clay. Terra cotta paper clay is good to create large pieces because the paper fibers give reinforcement in the clay.

SKR: Can you describe the process of creating these two life-size figures?

LD: The first thing that has to be done for such a large and heavy sculpture (total weight is about 800 pounds) is to build a substantial base with stainless steel rods that will be in the center of the art work. Each figure has a skeleton structure, this also allowed me to distribute the overall weight of the clay coils as well as being an internal brace.

The process to create any clay piece that has to be fired is to start pounding any air out of the clay, sort of like dough for bread making. Then you have to pound large pieces of shaped clay and push it into an extruder.

The coils come out in short sections that you have to mash together all the while trying to keep any air out of the clay. You then start from the bottom of the sculpture setting coil on top of coil all the time trying to produce the shape of your model. The sections are then set out to dry for a six-week period until all water has evaporated and the clay is bone dry. The sections of the sculptures are then put into gas kilns where they are fired.

The fired pieces are then fit together with industrial strength epoxy, the armature is gradually built inside the sculpture and the final pieces are the heads and arms that are then attached and sealed. Each level of the base of the sculptures had to be coiled individually and blended to the next tier of coils. It was also important that there be no air pockets between each tier of coils as this could destroy the sculpture when fired in the kiln.

The exterior had to be treated so that the sculpture would not be so fragile in transportation. The outside texture is a mixture of clay, iron oxide and epoxy mainly for reinforcement so that the sculpture would be less likely to break.

SKR: What were the challenges in working in the terra cotta medium?

LD: Fired clay is fragile material and can easily break because of this factor, this was the hardest challenge in working with this material.

SKR: What tools did you use to shape and define the clay after you placed it over the frame?

LD: I used clay tools such as trowels, scrapers, small rakes and a cut off baseball bat. The bat was used to move large areas to sculpt the shapes in place.

The inside of the sculpture frame work is welded stainless steel rods. To refine the faces, I used my hands and formed their personal characteristics with some potter tools that would allow for finer detail work. The head and hands have a different coat finish that keeps the detail of the faces but also is a protective finish on it.

SKR: What are some of the details in this sculpture that may not be thoroughly appreciated in the photo?

LD: The overall sculpture piece and the very fine detail from button holes to the wheat. The wheat was duplicated from a mold I made and pressed the many heads of wheat so they look like actual wheat.

SKR: How long did it take you to create the basket of wheat St. Maria is holding?

LD: It took several months because I had to press into a mold 200 pieces of wheat that then had to dry and then fire them. Equally time consuming was the placement into the basket once they were ready for the final step.

SKR: What are some of the pieces you have in other Catholic churches?

LD: I have The Immaculate Conception for The Gate of Heaven Mausoleum in Albuquerque, NM; The Sacred Heart of Jesus, for Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Buffalo, New York, and The Crucifixion for Christ the King Church in Singapore. I’m also most proud of my recent BENE award for liturgical furnishings that are in the St. Catherine of Sienna Church in Carrollton Texas.

Readers can learn more at the artist’s website: www.ldabeau.com