From clay to bronze

He is best known locally for his sculpture of a fisherman with a huge sturgeon over his shoulder that is evocative of the commercial fishing era of Port Washington and is displayed in a fishermen’s memorial in Rotary Park. But Andrew Schumann has carved out his creative mark on the area in other iconic ways.

His detailed bronze sandhill crane rising out of cattails sits outside Sharon S. Richardson Community Hospice in Sheboygan Falls. A life-size bronze sculpture of Martin Luther with his arm raised holding a Bible stands near the entrance of Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon.

Schumann, who lives in Fredonia, was a member of the college’s first graduating class. He has sent his sculptured pieces overseas and traversed the world of animals and architecture.

He has created the Zoological Society of Milwaukee’s annual pewter Christmas ornament since the tradition started in 1993. He has made the Milwaukee Holiday Lights Festival pewter ornament the last 15 years.

The award-winning decorative wood carver quickly switched to clay early in his career. There, he found his passion and profession, and worked to establish his niche in the crowded art world.

“I found my space,” he said.

Today, that applies literally and figuratively. Schumann’s specialties include a variety of animal sculptures, some based on photos and others from his head. For the past month, he has worked primarily out of a second-floor room at Port Washington Harbor Center on the lakefront.

His window faces the street rather than the water, and he’s just fine with that.

“The light that comes through here on a sunny day is really nice for doing artwork,” he said.

The room is filled with pewter animal pieces, wall hangings of what he calls acrylic aqua resin and a few bronze masterpieces.

Everything starts with clay. Schumann uses Klean Klay that can be reused when heated to 130 degrees. He got it from a now-defunct company in Indiana.

Schumann constructs a clay model, creating every intricate detail — from birds’ feathers, to fishes’ scales — using mini-sculpting tools and medical instruments.

“I’ve got a lot of dental tools,” he said.

Schumann sunk his teeth into art when he was a child, drawing large Marvel Comics characters on his bedroom walls as he grew up in multiple places since his father was in the Air Force. He attended high school in Portland, Ore., before coming to Concordia.

Schumann earned bachelor’s degrees in humanities and education with a minor in art.

He taught for two years before realizing education wasn’t for him. He took on odd jobs, including maintenance at his alma mater. While on a break at that job, he came across a bronze sculpture of an owl in a magazine.

“I want to do that,” Schumann thought.

He dove into the art world full time.

“The fear of having to make a living made it work,” he said.

He started as a wood carver, taking second place for best in show as a novice in a wood carving competition in Maryland for his wood duck. That’s where a friend handed Schumann a piece of clay.

“I started playing with it. I really like this stuff,” he said.

Schumann’s newfound medium began with cold calling and knocking on doors — local churches for pewter ornaments of their buildings and the Zoological Society for an ornament that turned into a tradition that sells hundreds of pieces each Christmas. Schumann has never repeated an animal in more than 30 creations.

“I have some customers whose entire Christmas tree has the collection on it,” he said.

He dove into the process, learning how to make rubber molds, pour wax and weld items together for large complex pieces, even pewter, which he was told can’t be welded.

“When I’m doing it, I have no concept of time,” he said. “I’m in my own world, but I’m not escaping from anything. I go to it to enjoy it.”

Schumann’s artistic journey includes trips to foundries in Illinois and Colorado to create the large bronze pieces and have them sprayed to capture the right color and for protection.

“Since I’ve done all the foundry work except pour the metal, for me it’s not a big deal,” he said.

Schumann has delivered large pieces to Texas and drove a 20-foot-tall sculpture of a Native American spear fisherman to Washington State.

His inspiration comes from photos he finds online and other places. He subscribes to a website allowing for the use of photographs.

“For the most part, I’m not reproducing their photos or paintings. I’m just using it for proportions,” Schumann said.

He likes the metallic look of his work rather than using realistic colors.

“Otherwise the material would be white. It has more depth, more interest. It gives it another level of workmanship,” Schumann said.

He especially likes the large bronze pieces.

“Bronze is richer. It’s durable. You really can’t do anything to it,” he said.

When a piece falls or gets stepped on, Schumann can bring it back to its original design.

“Everything in sculpture can be fixed,” he said.

Schumann’s reputation through his well-known work and online sales has somewhat flipped the script on his business plan. He has pieces in Art Perspective Gallery on the first floor of the Harbor Center because “they approached me,” he said.

Schumann managed his career with his wife Diane, who he met in college and who has taught at St. Paul Lutheran School in Grafton for 42 years, while the two raised four children.

Now in his mid-60s, Schumann still puts plenty of time into his lifetime passion, but he’s not working until 1 or 2 a.m. like he did years ago.

“I’ve always said I’ll do it until the good Lord takes it from me. I can’t imagine being retired sitting on my hands,” he said.

“I’m not going to work 60-hour weeks anymore, but I’ll always be doing it.”

For more information, visit https://www.schumannsculpture.com. His Etsy store is at https://tinyurl.com/bdf5nxr5. For the Zoological Society ornaments, visit https://www.zoosociety.org/support/ornaments. For downtown Milwaukee ornaments, visit https://shop.milwaukeedowntown.com.