“ I work with forms — linear and straight lines . I ’ m trying to resolve a question in the piece .
The melding of two opposite forms — straight and curved , ring yin and yang , male and female — it ’ s a problem artists have worked with since Greek times .”
“ Garbage Goat ” in Riverfront Park , Spokane | 1974
“ I work with forms — linear and straight lines . I ’ m trying to resolve a question in the piece .
The melding of two opposite forms — straight and curved , ring yin and yang , male and female — it ’ s a problem artists have worked with since Greek times .”
College closed in 1982 , but Sister Paula maintained a studio at the Holy Names Center near Spokane Falls Community College . She continued to teach at her studio and create sculptures . “ I sure don ’ t like to work at a desk ,” she said . Her religious vocation actually allowed more time for art than she thought she would have if she hadn ’ t taken the veil . “ When you ’ re in a religious order , your family doesn ’ t interfere with the work you are trying to do . I don ’ t have to cook for some husband .”
She was able to work realistically , as her surprisingly conventional watercolors showed , but in three dimensions she was drawn to more abstract imagery . “ I work with forms — linear and straight lines . I ’ m trying to resolve a question in the piece . The melding of two opposite forms — straight and curved , ring yin and yang , male and female — it ’ s a problem artists have worked with since Greek times .” Early in her career , she said , “ I have been working on a series of abstract sculptures which by their substance and contour show in varying degrees opposition ,
equilibrium , and attraction . In some there is a complexity revealed within the simple form . In others the breakthrough occurs exteriorly . Basically , the forms are anthropomorphic .”
Sister Paula worked with many different materials : stone , welded steel , cast aluminum , and bronze wood . Many of her wooden sculptures were made of hard-to-find walnut or Philippine mahogany ; wooden pieces could take up to three months to finish . Her trademark was copper piping , set side-by-side like corduroy cloth .
She was tiny — only about five feet tall — but she took on massive projects with impressive energy . Her studio was a maze of hammers , pliers , chisels , pulleys , torches , and pieces of metal . Sister Paula did conceptual drawings of her projects for clients , but sometimes they weren ’ t enough . She would often sculpt miniature models to work out the problems enforced by three dimensions .
Not surprisingly , many of her commissions were for churches and other religious institutions . She created Stations of the Cross for two churches , a bishop ’ s throne for Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral in Spokane , and several sculptures for the campus of Gonzaga University . One of her largest works was a 500-pound group of three figures done for a garden outside the Holy Family Church in Yakima .
Sister Paula ’ s secular work called on a different kind of inspiration . At Spokane Community
Sister Paula ’ s studio ( photo courtesy
Rick Davis )
“ Sasquatch ” Spokane Community College | 1972
36 ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE