Mary Zimmerman - Interview
“She is the sanctity of all life,” explains Mary Zimmerman about her sculpture, Madonna. “This is the best way I could show our Mother’s love for all babies,” she says. When Mary Zimmerman opened an industrial foundry in Loveland, CO and the only foundry in the city decades ago with her husband Bob, she wasn’t sure where it would lead.
The Zimmermans opened Art Castings of Colorado, which they later sold before moving to Paonia. There, they operate a smaller foundry, Lands End Sculpture Center. While working at Art Castings, Mary tried her hand at sculpting and it stuck. She focuses on mythical and barnyard animals; subjects she believes will interest children but is very happy with how Madonna turned out. “This is not typical of my work,” she states, “but I submitted this piece because I thought the Sisters would like it and I thought it would remind people who pass by it that our Mother has a lot of love for her children.”
Zimmerman says it took her about a month to complete the 30-pound sculpture, which includes all the foundry work. Zimmerman’s work is no stranger to Sioux Falls. She has been involved in the downtown SculptureWalk for six years.
