Despite his origins on the island of Oesel in the Baltic Sea, Schotz’s work is deeply steeped in Scottish culture. Spending most of his life in Glasgow, Schotz is most famous for his enigmatic portrait sculptures which immortalise hundreds of the individuals he encountered during his life.
This sketchbook demonstrates how Schotz took inspiration from his walks in nature. Within the twisting tree branches he saw human figures which he adapted into his sculptures. Sometimes he would encounter a figure of nature that he felt no need to change to bring out its human qualities. He referred to this as ‘heavenly sculpture’. In this sketchbook, we see the early stages of what would become some of his most evocative sculptures, including Ex Terra, and Alice and The Red Queen.
