Isabel Bloom
Encyclopedia
Isabel Bloom was an artist who was born Isabel Scherer in Galveston, Texas
, and raised in Davenport, Iowa
. She learned sculpture while studying at the Stone City Art Colony
in central Iowa under Florence Sprague. In the two summers she spent there, she met fellow artist and future husband John Bloom, and the two married in 1938.
, Iowa Art Colony. Grant Wood
is most commonly known for his work of art, "American Gothic
". Isabel's future husband, John Bloom, was at that same camp, also working with Grant Wood. Together John and Grant worked on painting murals for the Des Moines Library and the Iowa State University
library.
, enhance details by adding white concrete
and sponging it off, and then apply a resin
coating to finish it off. All of Isabel's inspiration has been taken from real life situations, children and animals. All of the sculptures are simple, with not much detail which created an even more distinctive style to the concrete statues.
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
, and raised in Davenport, Iowa
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
. She learned sculpture while studying at the Stone City Art Colony
Stone City art colony
The Stone City Art Colony was an art colony founded by Edward Rowan, Adrian Dornbush, and Grant Wood. The colony gathered on the John A. Green Estate in Stone City, Iowa during the summers of 1932 and 1933.- History :...
in central Iowa under Florence Sprague. In the two summers she spent there, she met fellow artist and future husband John Bloom, and the two married in 1938.
Isabel's early life
Isabel started showing artistic promise from a very young age and studied at many different institutes such as, the Immaculate Conception Academy, the Vogue School of Fashion and Design, and eventually the Chicago Art Institute. In the 1930s Isabel studied under Grant Wood at the Stone CityStone City
The Stone City is the popular name of an ancient fortified city within the current city of Nanjing. Almost all of the original city is gone; all that remains are portions of the massive city wall....
, Iowa Art Colony. Grant Wood
Grant Wood
Grant DeVolson Wood was an American painter, born four miles east of Anamosa, Iowa. He is best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest, particularly the painting American Gothic, an iconic image of the 20th century.- Life and career :His family moved to Cedar Rapids after his...
is most commonly known for his work of art, "American Gothic
American Gothic
American Gothic is a painting by Grant Wood, in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Wood's inspiration came from a cottage designed in the Gothic Revival style with a distinctive upper window and a decision to paint the house along with "the kind of people I fancied should live in that...
". Isabel's future husband, John Bloom, was at that same camp, also working with Grant Wood. Together John and Grant worked on painting murals for the Des Moines Library and the Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
library.
Sculpture process
Making the sculptures always came easy to Isabel. A close friend, Shirley Davis has said, "Isabel worked very quickly. John once told me that he and she would sometimes decide to create the same figure, and while he was still deciding what kind of wood to use, Isabel would be finishing her figure." Isabel would begin by making a sculpture out of clay so she could later cast the mold. Isabel would then put her own touch on it by adding colorColor
Color or colour is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, green, blue and others. Color derives from the spectrum of light interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors...
, enhance details by adding white concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
and sponging it off, and then apply a resin
Resin
Resin in the most specific use of the term is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees. Resins are valued for their chemical properties and associated uses, such as the production of varnishes, adhesives, and food glazing agents; as an important source of raw materials...
coating to finish it off. All of Isabel's inspiration has been taken from real life situations, children and animals. All of the sculptures are simple, with not much detail which created an even more distinctive style to the concrete statues.
External links
- http://www.ibloom.com/Page/Home.aspx?nt=130
- http://www.ibloomwholesale.com/