Marriott's Bearcat Blends Two Great Traditions

You may be tempted to eat a brat or swirl into a polka when you see the "Mascot Mania" Bearcat commissioned by the Marriott Kingsgate Conference Hotel.

"Octo 'Bearcat' Fest" is the creation of Wolfgang Ritschel, professor emeritus who is an accomplished painter and sculptor as well as a scientist. The statue's name, which was selected by a committee at Marriott Kingsgate, marries two great Cincinnati traditions, the UC Bearcats and the German American tradition of Oktoberfest.

The Ritschel mascot is just one of more than 55 mascots scheduled to be displayed at UC's Homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 26, in an event inspired by Cincinnati's Big Pig Gig.

"There is a lot of excitement around the project," says Leo Chandler, general manager of Marriott Kingsgate. "When we get the mascot on site, it will create even more enthusiasm. Most of the people who work here live within two to five miles of the university. University Athletics is already a link. All of them pretty much follow basketball and football. Most of them are already big fans. It's the team they've grown up with. Now it's going to be fun to see the reaction to the Octo 'Bearcat' Fest."

Dressed in lederhosen and stutzen - a special foot-less sock that warms the lower leg muscles - and topped with a typical Bavarian hat adorned with a "Gamsbart," or mountain goat beard, the statuette draws on Cincinnati's great German American heritage. It is also built upon the Austrian-born Ritchel's own experience with Munich's Oktoberfest. He visited the festival from his homeland nearby.

The retired professor of pharmacokinetics and pharmacology painted his creation with acrylics in green, orange-pink, red, black, brown and yellow. Bright colors have become his trademark as a result of working above 14,000 feet in the Andes of Peru. "When you're painting at high altitudes in the Andes, the colors are just outlandish," he explains.

For the Bearcat's cap, the artist used his own hat as a model. The Bearcat sports a green one, while Ritschel picks up his own, which is black, saying: "When I came to the United States in 1968, I wore this hat."

The Bearcat's bonnet is sculpted from blocks of green florist's foam that Ritschel glued together with contact cement. Over the shaped foam, the artist layered "Bondo," the same material used to fix dents in cars at body shops, until the hat took the form he wanted. Then, he sanded and painted it.

For the Gamsbart sticking out from the hat's brim, Ritschel used medical scissors, or hemostats, to provide reinforcement on the inside. A steel tube welded to it helps to hold the goat's beard in place. Like the hat it sits on, the goat's beard is sculpted from floral foam and Bondo.

For finishing touches on the Bearcat's Bavarian hat, the artist used rope he had at home from his old-fashioned windows. Lastly, he placed medals on the cap, just as a European would wear. The pin just to the front of the mountain goat beard is the mascot of Cincinnati's sister city and home to the world's largest Oktoberfest, Munich. The medal shows the Little Child of Munich, or "Munchener Kindl," Ritschel explains.

At the other end of the 'Cat, Ritschel placed a beer stein, overflowing with beer and foam. It sits on the Octo 'Bearcat''s base, which is painted half red and half black in UC colors.

"I think it's great," was the reaction of Tim Jones, director of room operations at Marriott Kingsgate, upon seeing the mascot about 90 percent finished on a recent visit to Ritschel's Pendleton art studio. "It'll be interesting to see how we stack up to everybody else."

Finding Ritschel to work on the Kingsgate Bearcat proved to be roundabout, considering Ritschel had served on UC's faculty from 1969 until his retirement from the College of Pharmacy and the College of Medicine in 1997. "My neighbor's cousin's daughter recommended Wolfgang," Jones said. "We told her our idea, and she said I have the perfect guy for you."

Ritschel proved a wise choice in many other ways, not just his UC connections. He has nurtured a love of art dating back to his earliest memories while growing up in Austria. The artist also has had more than 50 solo exhibitions of his work throughout the United States and Europe. He has participated in more than 150 group shows, and permanent exhibits of his work are displayed in Cincinnati, New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

He also possessed Big Pig Gig experience. His "Covington Retriever" proved to be a pig "in an identity crisis," Ritschel explains. "Hooves became paws. I put a stick in the mouth."

That project proved to be a good rehearsal for Mascot Mania. "The second time has been easier," admits the artist, who typically wears a paint-dotted white lab coat bearing a UC seal on the front pocket. "The first time, I did all the sanding of the surface myself. That was horrible, extremely dusty."

This time, he sent the Bearcat to an auto body shop to be completely sanded and primed before working on it himself. Once he got it back from the shop, he did fill a few holes, sanded and primed them. The body shop "did not do as careful a job as an artist would like for the surface," he said.

All of the work on "Octo 'Bearcat' Fest" has proven to be fun, as well as a way for Ritschel to share his pride in UC. "I liked it here. I am proud of UC. Once I got here I was intrigued by the collaboration between departments and colleges. I had not seen that elsewhere," said Ritschel.

He welcomes Mascot Mania as a chance for the UC community and the city to identify with one of its symbols. "Whenever you have something in common, you have to have a symbol. It's a very good idea to bring people together. We belong together," he said.

His final Mascot creation will be displayed sometime after Sept. 21 at Marriott Kingsgate, Jones said. On Oct. 26, it will make an appearance at the Alumni Association's Homecoming Hospitality Tent.

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