THELEAVEN.ORG | VOL. 38, NO. 38 | MAY 19, 2017
Artist’s sculptures are
‘AN EXPRESSION OF MY FAITH’
LEAVEN PHOTO BY JOE MCSORLEY
Self-taught sculptor and woodcarver Derrell Southern takes a chisel and hammer to a large piece of wood. Southern is a member of Good Shepherd Parish in Shawnee.
By Carolyn Kaberline Special to The Leaven
B
O N N E R SPRINGS — The next time you visit Good Shepherd Parish in Shawnee, take a look at the wooden sculptures in the sanctuary. They were all carved by one man: Derrell Southern, who lives in Bonner Springs. There is the crucifix, of course, and also four angels — a flutist, a violinist, a heralding trumpeter and a lyricist with a harp. Southern, now 87, and a member of Good Shepherd, has been sculpting wood figures for as long as he can remember. Although he has had no formal training in art, he said he came from a “wood family.” Since his dad was a cabinetmaker, he was always around wood. Although he dabbled in other
LEAVEN PHOTO BY JOE MCSORLEY
In addition to his larger carvings, Southern also creates smaller pieces of art, focusing mostly on religious themes. art media, such as acrylic in his early years, he always came back to wood. Now sculpting full time since his retirement from TWA,
where he was first a mechanic and later an engineer, his works can be found in a variety of churches and other venues across the country.
“In 1970, TWA commissioned me to do a piece for Neil Armstrong,” Southern said. Using a large walnut log he found at the Lake of the Ozarks, Southern created an impressionistic piece honoring Armstrong’s walk on the moon. “It was quite an honor to do a piece for him,” said Southern. “It was a simulation of his trip to the moon and showed him taking off for the moon. It’s about four feet tall. He took it to his office in Washington, D.C.” But Southern, who said he has always been deeply rooted in the Catholic Church, wanted to find a way to use his art as an expression of his Catholic faith. He contacted churches in various dioceses about his art. After putting an advertisement with pictures of his work in a California magazine, he was contacted by St. Pius X Church in Baton Rouge, >> See “IN-HOME” on page 7