Vista Online

Fall/Winter 2001

Mother's Milk

Sculpture by Steve Heilmer

Four years ago, Seattle University, sister school to St. Louis University, chose Greenville College art professor Steve Heilmer from dozens of artists across the country to carve an eight-foot tall solid marble image of the Virgin Mary for its first freestanding chapel.

Prior to four years ago, Seattle University held services in a campus auditorium. The university chose renowned architect Stephen Hall to design the building. The St. Ignatius Chapel has since become the second most visited place of architectural interest in Seattle.

At the beginning of the project, a committee began searching for the right artist to carve the image of Mary customary in a Catholic chapel or church. After reviewing dozens of proposals, the committee chose Heilmer, who has focused on religious work for the last thirteen years. The committee made the decision largely based on the recommendation of Father Dempsey at St. Louis University, where one of Heilmer’s works is on permanent display.

Originally the university asked Heilmer to create a replica of the Black Madonna. According to tradition, it was before this statue in France that Sir Ignatius was converted, throwing down his weapons and going on to found the Jesuit order. This display of courage eventually gained his sainthood.

After spending three days in Seattle looking at the new contemporary building and studying the student body, Heilmer felt that a less traditional approach would be more appropriate. He proposed a carving of a bowl of milk spilling over the side of a stone. The milk symbolizes Mary as it represents motherhood. For those not satisfied with pure symbolism, the milk flows down over the rock in a shape that suggests the outline of Mary.

Heilmer sent a small clay model of the design to Seattle for review. After showing it to students and others at the university, the committee accepted his new design.

Now, four years later, Heilmer stands back and contemplates the completed work. “I keep seeing things I want to change,” he says in the true spirit of an artist. “I just need to ship it...”

Regardless of Heilmer’s misgivings, the consensus seems to be that he should not change a thing. Professor Rick McPeak called the statue “spectacular,” and no one has contested his opinion.

It took two tries and two years for Heilmer to get a stone “of the quality Michelangelo searched for.” He finally found what he was looking for in this piece of marble, which was shipped from Italy. It is milky white and translucent when polished. According to Heilmer, one of the most interesting things about the sculpture is that it contains examples of “everything that can be done with marble” from rough, earthy carved surfaces and sawing to smoothly polished and delicately shaped features.

The finished sculpture weighs 2,300 pounds and stands eight feel tall. Previous to this, Heilmer’s largest creation was a mere 450 pounds. He has only done five or six other marble pieces.

Heilmer quickly defers much of the credit for the piece to his assistant, Paul Bayer of St. Louis, an expert carver, technician, and artist. “I would have quit without his help,” Heilmer declares. “It was absolutely critical.” Heilmer is more about “ideas and concepts” and does not consider himself to be a carving expert. In the last eight months Bayer traveled to Greenville almost every week to add his expertise and experience to the creative process.

College Press Release

Last updated: July 9, 2001