Scarborough resident Norman Rosenbaum found another career after retirement and today prides himself on producing one-of-a-kind hand carved stone bears.
He had never done anything artistic in his life until he took a woodcarving class at the University of New Mexico in 1996 after relocating to the state. However, woodworking was not his true artistic medium; a short while later he discovered stone carving.
“It just opened up a whole new world,” he said.
Now eight years later Rosenbaum is retired and is a well-known stone carver specializing in creating bears from blocks of Colorado, Utah or New Mexico alabaster, Zia Pueblo gypsum and New Mexico limestone. Of the hundreds of pieces he has produced over his career just one was not a bear.
He decided to create bears because that is what he sees in the stone.
“When I pick up a piece of stone I see what I call the spirit of the stone and to me it is a bear,” he said. “I see the bear inside.”
Rosenbaum studied under Rollie Grandbois in Jemez Springs, N.M., in 1997 and 2002 and today has become a teacher himself, instructing Jayme Cross of Minot in the art.
He describes his work as blend of traditional style and techniques and contemporary expressionism,
Unlike many stone sculptors, Rosenbaum uses only hand tools, ranging from hacksaws to chisels and rasps. It is a long process, but one Rosenbaum treasures, spending four to six hours a day in his garage slowly shaping the block of stone into bear. Creating a single piece can take up to four days.
“I’m in no hurry,” he said. “I have nothing but time for the first time in my life.”
Rosenbaum starts out with a two- to three-pound cube of stone and begins carving it down. He stops carving when it feels right, and only rarely feels a need to re-carve any of it.
Once he has completed the shape, Rosenbaum sands down the object using diamond pads specifically designed for stonework, as well as regular sandpaper. Once it reaches a high level of smoothness he coats it with several layers of bowling wax. A finished piece is so smooth some people call it soft, he said.
“Sculpture is labor intensive,” he said. “But it’s a labor of love.”
Today Rosenbaum is producing polar bears and has given two sculptures to Bowdoin College where they are on display. He also has just competed a black bear that he will donate to the University of Maine.
The best part of the work is that it gives him a chance to express himself in a creative way, something that was not available to him in his previous career as a physician.
“That’s what I do now, I’m a craftsman,” he said.
Rosenbaum’s work is popular and he has displayed his work in numerous art galleries in the state including Greenhut Galleries in Portland.
He has been successful in selling many of his pieces, although that is not the real reason he continues to create the bears.
“It’s to let people know all the things that sculpture offers,” he said.
He intentionally keeps his prices low compared to other sculptors so many people can afford to purchase his pieces.
“It’s really been my purpose to make it available to people,” he said. “To introduce the beauty of sculpture.”
Rosenbaum’s work is now on display at the Scarborough Public Library and he will be giving a lecture at the library on his work on Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 7 p.m.
Norman Rosenbaum inside his Chamberlain Road garage that doubles as his art studio. 
One of the hundreds of bears that Norman Rosenbaum has hand carved carved from stone imported from the southwest.
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