Soon after her birth in Galveston, Texas, the family of Isabel Scherer moved to Davenport, Iowa. As a teen she exhibited early artistic talent and received daily art lessons at the Immaculate Conception Academy. Further art training continued at the Vogue School of Fashion and Design and, later, at the Chicago Art Institute.
In the early 1930's Isabel spent two formative summers at the Stone City Art Colony in central Iowa, carving limestone under the watchful eye of America's greatest prairie artist, Grant Wood. Even more important, Isabel's experience within the colony included meeting another soon-to-be accomplished young artist, John Bloom, whom she married in 1938.
Isabel's insightful observations of children became the driving inspiration of her career as a sculptor. Isabel's experimentation with the reproduction of her clay sculptures led to the development of the unique concrete casting and finishing process still used to create each Isabel Bloom sculpture. The original green-tinted finish is intended to resemble weathered bronze Victorian-era garden sculpture.
Ever-increasing demand gave Isabel the confidence to move her studio from her home into rented quarters in the Village of East Davenport. For more than forty-five years the sculpture of Isabel Bloom has warmed the hearts and brightened the homes, gardens and offices of art lovers and collectors throughout the United States and especially the Quad Cities.
The Isabel Bloom, L.L.C. established the Isabel Bloom Art Education Fund to honor the memory of the sculptor and company founder. The fund provides extra financial support to the visual arts programs within the primary and secondary schools of Scott and Rock Island Counties. The company could think of no better way to celebrate Isabel's life than to combine her love of children with her passion for all forms of visual art. The grants from the fund are to further the education of local children and art instructors, foster greater appreciation of the visual arts and help enhance the quality of life in our Quad Cities.
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