Once Gareth Curtiss gets started on a sculpture, time stands still.
Sculpting for numerous hours a day, sometimes 12 and sometimes 18, Curtiss loses track of time until he looks at the clock and realizes how long he’s been working.
“That’s the interesting thing about art. You go to a different place,” Curtiss said. “It’s like my brain shuts off.”
His sculpting process was on display this week at the University of Idaho for students, faculty and community members to watch live as he began working on a Joe Vandal statue commissioned by the university.
Thursday marked Curtiss’ third day working on the clay model sculpture of Joe Vandal, called a maquette. He’s been sculpting since Tuesday, working from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Idaho Student Union Building Rotunda.
“I don’t always get to do projects like this where I get to be in a community, but I prefer it, if possible,” he said. “I like that I get connected to the area where my piece is going to go, and I get to learn more about what it represents to that community.”
The university commissioned the Joe Vandal monument to recognize Associated Students of the University of Idaho’s continued financial support for the P1FCU Kibbie Dome and other key campus resources. Student fees have historically played a central role in funding the dome, which was renamed last year, replacing the former ASUI Kibbie Activity Center name.
Once finished, the clay sculpture will be cast in bronze and situated near the P1FCU Kibbie Dome and the ICCU Idaho Arena.
In the rotunda, Curtiss has a small rendition of what the full statue will look like, alongside a model of Joe Vandal’s head. After wrapping up at UI on Friday, he’ll return to his studio in Fortine, Montana, to complete the monthslong process of sculpting, molding and casting the statue in bronze.
“I’ll start making this thing big. He’s going to be really big,” Curtiss said.
The final statue will stand more than 9 feet tall and weigh more than 1,500 pounds. It features Joe Vandal leaning against a large “I” monument in traditional garb associated with the ancient European marauders rather than the athletic uniform the mascot usually wears. Joe Vandal has been UI’s mascot since 1956.
Curtiss said the cost ranges around $160,000 but could increase depending on when the university wants the statue built.
UI initially hoped the Joe Vandal statue would be finished in the fall. While Curtiss said it is possible, he’s aiming to have it done by no later than next spring.
Molly Arvidson, a freshman at UI, stood perplexed watching and listening to Curtiss’ sculpting process for 20 minutes.
“My aunt is a sculptor, and I took a sculpting class in high school with an awesome teacher,” she said. “I liked the creative freedom he gave us.”
Arvidson stumbled upon Curtiss sculpting in the rotunda and said she had no idea he was doing this all week. She showed Curtiss a couple of her past sculptures and talked about her passion for ceramics until she left.
Curtiss creates his sculptures using modeling clay, which incorporates wax for flexibility. Instead of using a water-based clay that hardens as it sits, the wax helps maintain shape without drying out, making it ideal for detailed sculpting. His modeling clay can be indefinitely reused after a mold is made of the sculpture.
To bring Joe Vandal to life, Curtiss will break the finished sculpture into about 40 pieces for manageability and create rubber molds. He’ll then make wax castings, coat them in ceramic and fire them in a kiln, melting the wax to leave a hollow mold. Molten bronze is poured in, and the ceramic shell is broken away to reveal the metal. He’ll then weld the pieces together, refine details and apply a patina for the desired finish.
‘It’s their legacy and it’s my legacy’
Community input is huge for Curtiss. More than 1,500 students, alumni and Idaho locals voted on three poses for the statue. Even though he’s finishing the piece in Montana, he plans to keep the university involved by sharing photos and videos as he progresses.
“It’s a legacy. It’s their legacy and it’s my legacy,” he said.
Curtiss impressed UI with his desire to connect with the Vandal community and standout track record of experience in public art. He beat out more than 30 applicants during the nationwide sculpting competition that began last summer.
With more than 40 years of experience, he’s shaped countless figures for sports teams, universities and public spaces, including several in Washington. He’s sculpted the Minuteman statue at Camp Murray, a Fallen Heroes Memorial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and multiple sculptures along the Columbia River.
Through his work, he’s traveled nationwide, delivering sculptures to Virginia, Mississippi, Michigan, Florida, Washington, Oregon and, soon, Idaho.
Curtiss is a jack of all trades – handling every step of the sculpting process, including casting the structures at his foundry in Montana that he’s run for more than 30 years.
“You have to be really good at a lot of different things,” he said. “You have to be good at welding and you have to know about patinas.
“It’s a long list of stuff that you have to have under your belt.”
For Curtiss, the challenge and the joy of juggling two processes is that he’s continually learning.
He even prefers to work on multiple large projects at once, spending a couple of days on one sculpture and a couple of days on another.
“I like working like that because it keeps it fresh,” he said. “As a sculptor, you can kind of get bogged down second-guessing yourself on something.”
One thing Curtiss never second-guessed, however, was his interest and desire to explore art and create art because “it was always my thing,” he said.
Curtiss had natural drawing abilities as a young boy. Growing up in Montana, he wasn’t a stranger to hard labor, working on ranches and moving to Alaska after high school to work for the forestry service and on crab boats. Yet, he continued to draw.
As luck would have it, Curtiss met Richard “Dick” Sprang, an American comic book artist most known for his Batman illustrations, on a train in Alaska.
Striking up a conversation after noticing Curtiss’ sketches, Sprang invited Curtiss to his home in Arizona during the winter of 1979, where he convinced Curtiss not to attend art school and instead focus on creating a body of work that reflected his artistic desires.
“He was my mentor and my dear friend for life,” Curtiss said. “I owe Dick a lot. Basically, he gave me the magic feather to say, ‘OK, you’re going to be a professional artist.’ ”
Curtiss then holed up in an old family-owned resort in Montana with no electricity and kicked off his sculpting career.
