WOODSTOCK, Ill. — Inside of his Woodstock studio, sculptor Erik Blome is putting the finishing touches on his latest statue. He’s brushing the bronze with steel wool.

“I’m trying to get that feeling of like a retouched photo,” Blome said. “I kind of like the metal coming through in places so you know it’s bronze.”

During a 40-year career, he has sculpted history’s heroes like Abraham Lincoln and living legends like Wayne Gretzky.

But the 58-year-old artist has never worked on a piece quite like the one he sculpted for Wentworth Park on Chicago’s Southwest Side.

“I did approach this with some conviction,” he said. “It really meant something to me.”

It is a statue memorializing Chicago Police officer Ella French, who was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Englewood in 2021. Her pa

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