Meet this Saskatchewan sculptor who looks to nature for artistic inspiration
Tucked away in a small valley west of Regina, Rich Loffler works to combine nature and art is his latest sculpture.
“I sculpt from life so that I can get life,” the artist told CTV News. “I want, when people look at my work, to say ‘I thought it moved.’”
Ever since he was a young boy, Loffler loved nature so much that he spent most of his days outdoors and eventually recreating the natural habitat at his job at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Regina.
“I did a lot of the dinosaurs there that are still on display,” he explained. “I just started doing other bigger animals like elk and moose.”
Loffler’s talent for capturing life led him to work on a unique international project, the biggest bronze sculpture he’s tackled so far.
The U.S. National Museum of Wildlife Art commissioned him to sculpt what is called the “Buffalo Trail” to be placed near the Jackson, Wyoming museum.
It was completed in 2012.
“Before you go up the road into the museum, the 67 foot long buffalo trail, one and a half life size, is sitting beside the highway,” Loffler explained.
Sculpting something of that magnitude involves many steps. Loffler started with a miniature version. Once satisfied, a mold is made similar to a hollow chocolate Easter Bunny.
(Gareth Dillistone/CTV News)
Some math is involved to enlarge the model and make it the size of the final work.
At the final stage the sculpture is dozens of pieces which are then bronzed and like a large 3D puzzle welded together and moved to its permanent location.
Another creation by Rich Loffler. (Gareth Dillistone/CTV News)
The project took five years from beginning to end.
“For a Canadian kid to go down and put something of that magnitude in front of a federally recognized museum – I mean it’s phenomenal,” Loffler remarked.
Loffler’s vision of the buffalo project is drawn directly from his own vision of history, paying tribute to the animals and Indigenous people’s ties to the land. With scenes of buffalo roaming the plains are embedded in his mind.
“I wish I could just pop back into the middle of a prairie and see a buffalo herd running with either wolves chasing it or natives running it to a pound,” he said.
“I mean I live in the past. I do. I live 150 years ago with my work because I sculpt the same way they did back then.”
A passion for history brought to life through his mind, his hands, and a higher power.
“Oh I believe that God put me here for this purpose and this reason,” he said. “I'm trying to do the best I can and make him make him proud.”
When it comes to Loffler’s work in Regina. Much of it is in private collections. However, some can be viewed at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in the faces and animals of some exhibits.
Unlike Wyoming, his work is not on display in a big way. At least not yet.
The Buffalo Trail could one day be situated on Treaty 4 land as the forms to build it still exist.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
A woman took her dog to a shelter to be euthanized. A year later, the dog is up for adoption again
Exhausted and short on options after consulting two veterinary clinics, Kristie Pereira made the gut-wrenching decision last year to take her desperately ill puppy to a Maryland shelter to be euthanized.
Toddler dies after being struck by recycling truck in Barrie, Ont. neighbourhood
A toddler has died after being struck by a recycling truck in a Barrie, Ont. neighbourhood on Thursday afternoon.
Community mourns victims of fatal boat crash near Kingston, Ont.
The three people killed in last weekend's tragic collision between a speedboat and a fishing boat north of Kingston are being remembered Friday.
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of a 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
Governments must disaster-proof Canada's hospitals against climate change: experts
Last month, the Canadian Medical Association warned that Canada's health-care facilities are among the oldest public infrastructure in use. Half were built more than 50 years ago, making them especially vulnerable to extreme climate events.
Luciano Benetton says he's stepping down as chairman of family-run brand as losses top US$100 million
Luciano Benetton, a co-founder of the apparel brand, announced he was stepping down as chairman in an interview published on Saturday with Milan daily Corriere della Sera. He blamed current management for losses of 100 million euros (US$108.5 million) that he discovered last year.
1 dead, 3 in hospital after flying wheel crashes into bus windshield on QEW
A man is dead, and three others are in hospital after a flying wheel crashed into a coach bus on the QEW in St. Catharines.
NASA launches tiny CubeSat to set its sights on Earth
NASA has launched the first of two research satellites to measure how much heat is lost to space from the Arctic and Antarctica.