Beverly Steigerwald - Interview
When it comes to creating her sculptures, Bev Steigerwald seeks out to achieve contemporary classics, inspired by treasured times and places, bringing the past into the experience of today. That is also what inspired Steigerwald to create Generations. “I was teaching an art class,” she says of where she got the idea for the sculpture. “And I had a model with a baby, which was very well received. Well later a gallery approached me and asked me to add a grandmother, and that’s how it got started,” she says. However, when recreating the smaller version, Steigerwald thought of how it reflects the Sistine Chapel and how God is instilling life into Adam. “This piece depicts family,” she says, “and how life moves on throughout the generations.”
Born in Ohio, and raised in Baltimore, MD, Steigerwald discovered her passion for sculpture later in life. “I could only afford two years of art school,” she explains. “And of course, the third year was all sculpture. But later I was able to take a sculpture class when my youngest child went to kindergarten. When I got into clay, I just knew that is what I loved.”
The mother of seven children, Steigerwald spent her early careers doing commercial work, greeting cards, and illustrating children’s books. A worldwide traveler, Steigerwald says she has been exposed to many wonderful sights and opportunities. “Everything just seemed to be planned for me,” she says of her experiences.
Steigerwald says Generations is very typical of her work. She enjoys recreating women and children, which reflect things she encountered while traveling. When she’s not self-studying, Steigerwald says she really enjoys teaching Head and Figure Sculpture at the Art Students League of Denver. “I think I learned as much as they did,” she says laughing. “I think the whole process of sculpture is stimulating and wonderful.”
