“I work with the material that shaped the industrial Midwest: steel. I create elegant and refined works using sweeping forms and geometric shapes that defy gravity. Color as well as form creates the mood and experience.” Sculptor Jerry Schmidt is one of the first artists to move into what is now called the “Waterloo Arts District,” in the Collinwood neighborhood on the east side of Cleveland. His Waterloo 7 Studio/Gallery is his working studio.

Jerry learned his craft working alongside his father, Fred Schmidt, a renowned sculptor back in the 50s and 60s. Fred had honed his welding skills while working for the New York Central Railroad. A former iron worker, Jerry left the trade several years ago to concentrate on creating sculpture out of discarded steel, as well as using rolled steel in sweeping forms and geometric shapes that defy gravity. Jerry’s son Tyler is the third generation of the family now working beside his father in the studio.

Jerry and Tyler create indoor and outdoor sculptures for private collectors and corporate collections. They create large and small works in steel, stainless steel, aluminum, and copper. Jerry’s work is held in the permanent collections of University Hospital, Cleveland Clinic, the Peter B. Lewis Building on the campus of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, and at the Cleveland VA Medical Center.

Recently, during the “Walk All Over Waterloo” art walk, Belt photographer Bob Perkoski chatted with Jerry and photographed him in his gallery.