CAMBRIDGE (SNR) — From the outside it
looks like most houses in Cambridge.
But when one enters the front door, one enters
a world of life-size sculpture. It is the studio of Sondra Jonson
of St. John Parish in Cambridge. Jonson, who has been called one of
Nebraska's busiest sculptors, has several different pieces in various
stages of completion.
The subjects of the sculptures are wide, ranging
from perhaps her masterpiece, “Rachel
Weeping for her Children,” a four-foot-high bronze of
the Old Testament Biblical figure of Rachel, to “Breaking
News,” a four-foot-hight, six-foot-long bronze of a Nebraska
family listening to a news broadcast from an old radio.
Jonson developed the concept of “Rachel
Weeping for her Children” as a pro-life piece, to depict
the loss of children through abortion. Rachel, the wife of the patriarch
Jacob, is brought to life in bronze as weeping for her children.
“Breaking News,” was commissioned
for KRVN, 880 AM radio of Lexington to mark the 50th anniversary of
the farm news station.
In addition to these works, Jonson's studio
includes charcoal and pencil drawings, concepts for murals, clay models
of proposed works, resin reliefs and the framework for works in progress.
Jonson's work and her journey to Cambridge
has been a long and interesting one. A native of Philadelphia, Jonson's
father was a native Nebraskan. As an adult and wanting to raise her
three sons in a rural setting, Jonson settled on Cambridge. Cambridge
is a well-kept, quiet town of about 1,000 along Highway 6/34 in Furnas
County – just the perfect place to rear children and pursue a
life-long love of art.
For Sondra, the pursuit of art came naturally.
She grew up with art, as both her parents are doctors who loved art.
They took her to art studios and museums in the Philadelphia area,
which helped in developing a desire to pursue art as a career.
Sondra said she had decided to be an artist
by the time she was in the first grade. Initially she wanted to be
a painter because she did not believe she could be a sculptor.
To see her work, however, one would believe
she has a God-given gift to depict people and places. Her sculptures
are based on realism – the desire to create images as they are
in reality.
Sondra said she sees her work as a natural
extension of her life as a Christian and mother.
“I have been in art so long that it is
as much of my everyday thoughts as being a Christian, a mother and
an American,” she said. “In almost everything and everyone
I see, I am aware of their potential for being part of a painting
or sculpture,” she said.
“God really helps me in my work,”
Sondra added.
Sondra said unlike painting, which is two-dimensional,
sculpture is a more difficult art form because it is three-dimensional.
“Every side of a (sculpture) must be good,”
she said, “Everything must flow.”
A turning point in deciding to pursue sculpture
came when Sondra was in high school. When she was 16 she took a trip
to Paris. While there, she visited the studios of nineteenth century
sculptor Auguste Rodin. Rodin, a noted realist sculptor, is perhaps
most noted for his work “The Thinker.”
The number and quality of his work impressed
Sondra. “There were sculptures and pieces everywhere,” she
said.
Encouraged by the beauty of Rodin's work, Sondra
attended Bryn Mawr College. Following Bryn Mawr she attended an art
school in Philadelphia founded by Ev Angelos Frudakis.
Frudakis encouraged Sondra to pursue sculpting.
She said it was at that time in her life, in the late 1970s that she
made the decision to pursue sculpture. It is a decision she has never
regretted.
“If you learn to sculpt, you want to do
more,” she said.
Following art school Sondra taught at the University
of Nevada at Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Art Museum. Sondra's career
eventually turned from teaching to doing what she loves – sculpting.
She especially enjoys sculpting people.
“I love doing people, especially religious
artwork,” Sondra said.
A convert from Judaism, Sondra's focus is on
prominent figures from Catholicism. Her studio is full of religious
pieces, ranging from a clay model of St. James to the metal framework
of a piece in progress of Jesus hanging on the cross.
“I really wanted to do art that will move
people, that will touch them deeply and make them think,” she
said.
One commission she is working on currently
is a sculpture of Blessed Pope John XXIII Diocesan Center in Lincoln.
The building houses many of the Diocese of Lincoln's offices at the
corner of 37th Street and Sheridan Boulevard in Lincoln.
Sondra researched the person of Pope John XXIII
from archival photos, pictorial histories of his life and from personal
recollections of people who met him. The result is a very life-like
clay model of the pontiff. The realism includes the lace edges of
his rochet, a papal vestment. To get the detail of that garment, Sondra
borrowed an old alb from the Chancery as part of her research.
For Sondra, whose works adorn many religious,
civic and public venues in a number of states, sculpting is a labor
of love. It is also an essential element of her relationship with
God.
“I pray to be able to create art that
inspires others as early Christian art has inspired me,” she
said. “With each new project I pray for guidance throughout the
process, so that what comes from my hands and studio pleases God and
edifies His people,” she said.
Sondra said she relies mostly on commissions,
which come from word of mouth.
“It takes a lot of faith to be an artist
because I never know where my next job is going to come from,”
she said.
The process in which an idea becomes a work
of art is an interesting one. First, a client usually contacts Sondra
about an idea they have for a sculpture. After discussing the piece,
Sondra will develop a sketch to try and capture the image the person
has in mind.
Sondra draws upon many ideas in her sketches
as she is always looking for subjects.
“I sketch a lot – sometimes out of
fascination for the world around me and sometimes because art is a
language I am still trying to master,” she said.
From sketch, Sondra will then create a small
clay model for the client to see. Using the clay model as a starting
point, changes and modifications are made. The first clay model is
the conceptual phase of the sculpture.
“It is the thinking and work which goes
into the first clay model,” Sondra said. When the changes are
finalized, Sondra will then sculpt a model in the dimensions specified.
From that model the piece is cast. Some works are life size, some
three-fourths life size and others the size desired by the client.
Some are full, three-dimensional works, others are busts, while yet
others are reliefs.
Once the clay model is accepted and approved
by the client, Sondra begins building the mold from which the sculpture
is cast.
She begins each sculpture by building an armature
of aluminum wire. If it is a large sculpture, usually a square piece
of channel iron metal is used to hold the armature up and give it
form. Wire netting is then wrapped around the armature to give it
body. Sondra then uses insulation to fill out the inside of the netting
to give it firmness.
Plastiline, a molding clay, is then applied
to the outside of the wire netting to create the sculpture. The piece
then begins to take shape as Sondra sculpts the clay into recognizable
features such as ears, a nose, arms, etc.
A variety of tools are used to fashion and
shape the clay. A common tool is the calipers, which is used to develop
proportions. Most artist use the head of the sculpture as a unit of
measure – other proportions of the body are determined from the
size of the head.
Other instruments Sondra uses include wood
carving and modeling tools. She has even made some of her own tools.
From the time the first clay model is accepted
by the client, it takes Sondra six to 12 weeks to sculpt a life size
figure ready for casting.
Her works are exhibited in many places including
churches, hospitals, city parks, nursing homes, radio stations, performing
art centers, high schools and private homes.
Her hope is that her work will lead others
to a deeper knowledge of God.
“While it was the Scriptures that revealed
to me the reality of God and the divinity of Jesus, Christian art
of the past also played a role in my journey,” she said.
“Creating sculpture that reflects the
presence of God in His people is a responsibility I do not take lightly,”
Sondra said.
