Neighbors: Marilyn Rothschild

Marilyn Rothschild and her husband, Steve, were on a safari in Africa, where it is customary never to take photos of locals without permission. But Rothschild sought permission and gave compensation to the woman and boy she photographed on the roadside. The little boy was carrying a circular piece of scrap metal around his neck — what Rothschild assumed to be his toy.

But the photograph became more than just a documented memory — it inspired her. She turned it into a true-to-scale drawing, which would became the basis for a sculpture.

“Usually, I find the spirit or movement of the sculpture in my drawing,” she says. “If the drawing doesn’t move me, I don’t go forward.”

From there, she made a wire armature upon which she carefully worked every detail of the oil-based clay.
“Hands have been challenging; faces are the most fun,” she says.

From the clay sculpture (or wax, which is her current favorite medium to sculpt in), it goes to a production person who does the technical work of making the molds, pouring the bronze and then conditioning it to be the right color. She uses S.M.art Castings in Sarasota for this part of the job.

Before she began sculpting, Rothschild was looking at Sarasota sculptor Jack Dowd’s work at a local art gallery. She told her friend that she’d love to learn to sculpt with Dowd, and an employee overheard her. The employee told her Dowd would again be teaching, and Rothschild signed up for the course. She was hooked instantly.

“I became intrigued that a sculpture has 1,000 photos … you can look at it from all angles, and that is an interesting challenge for me,” Rothschild says.

Rothschild already had experience studying color theory, impressionistic painting, life drawing and portrait painting, and she has loved drawing and painting ever since she was a child.

When she sold her stationery, journal and gift-manufacturing business, Mara-Mi Inc. after 26 years in 2005, Rothschild made a bucket list of activities she wanted to learn to fill her time.

“I had no idea what the future could possess for me because running a business was so encompassing,” she says.

Sculpture was the open door after closing her business.

Unfortunately, Dowd stopped teaching after that initial course, and Rothschild had to look for teachers elsewhere. Most recently she had a Longboat Key mentor, Marci Weisgold, and a Sarasota teacher, Pedro Cobian.

But, in Rothschild’s case, it seems she doesn’t need any additional teaching — her works already resemble small-scale versions of real life.

Sometimes she finds inspiration in photos and works with live models.

“My most recent is of (a) little garden girl. It was inspired by a relative,” she says. She typically works on a few sculptures at a time in her studio in her Longboat Key condo.

“There’s always an allure to go back there, and when I do, time just evaporates,” she says.

If You Go
Art in the Park
What: Multi-artist exhibition featuring Marilyn Rothschild’s work, among other artists.
When: Noon to 5 p.m. March 31 to April 4
Where: S.M.art Castings and Sculpture Services, LLC, 2258 Industrial Park Blvd., Sarasota
Cost: Free
Info: Call 355-0111