Mary Schmidt, 25, and Leonora Prugger, 20, are currently studying at the Academy of Arts in Nuremberg, Germany.

For the past two weeks they participated in a workshop on techniques to create sculptures in concrete taught by Dieter Erhard, artist and director of The Art Boat in Seadrift. Mary and Leonora have also shown their work at Dieter’s sculpture park in Germany. I asked them about their lodging while here in Texas and they enthusiastically shared they have bunked down in a garden shed on Dieter’s property sleeping on air mattresses. They apparently found it a great adventure!

Mary created “A German Donkey” with a rebar infrastructure and then winding fabric around it while applying a layer of cement to design the shape. She laughingly said there are a lot of donkeys in Germany and she just wanted to give them some recognition.

Leonora, formerly from Italy, created her masterpiece “Circus Artist” with an entirely different method. I’m afraid I didn’t quite understand how she developed her sculpture, but the finished piece is quite unique! The wine bottle on top of the female figure represents a juggling act often put on by circus entertainers.

Mary and Leonora will be leaving for home soon and expressed how they have enjoyed the amazing hospitality of the Texas folks! They both emphasized how they hope to be a successful artists and acknowledged “a keen focus on the goal and lots of energy” is important!

It was very enjoyable to talk with these delightful young artists and I would encourage checking out their art at The Art Boat. Their work will remain in Texas as I don’t think they are going to try to transport the huge sculptures back to Germany! Much too heavy!

Submitted by Virginia Dell Lichac, fellow artist and admirer of new artists on the art scene, and photography by Jerry Lichac.

Leonara Prugger

Mary Schmidt