A Pieta statue which holds dear memories for parishioners is restored

As part of the restoration, we returned the carved wooden phial of oil to the top of St. Walburge’s rule book

we completed the restoration of an antique set of Belgian Stations of the cross. Father mentioned that the parish children were keen to see the “story of Jesus” more clearly, as the figures had become so dull with age,

Working as a Religious artist was never presented to me as a viable career path...

Restoring a neo gothic saint - or two... Statues before restoration When the statue of Saint Teresa of Avila arrived she was wearing some uncharacteristic green eyeshadow. To be fair, in her teenage years Teresa was hailed as a ‘bit of a looker’, but once she’d had her conversion the trinkets and make-up were definitely ‘out’. While cloistered religious tend to a pale complexion, St. Teresa’s face appeared insipid when compared to the three other figures I had restored. Give

A son's gift We were asked to restore this carved wooden statue of Saint Joseph and the child Jesus by a local man, who had bought it some years ago in an antique shop for his mother. The seller had said it was carved in France, and hailed from the 1850's. As we regularly restore statuary from this period, I'd happily agree with the seller's appraisal. It had not fared well over the years. It stood 57 inches tall and around 30 inches wide. Only experience can tell if a statu

Damaged nodding angel statue This nodding angel made everyone who saw it in my repair shop smile. Smiles are something we have all missed, having worn masks for far too long, so his arrival was more than welcome. I wondered how many children over the years would have enjoyed popping a penny into the mission box, to see the angel nod its head in approval; such a simple thing that brings to mind our guardian angels encouraging us to do good. How old is the angel? The nodding

Statue of Our Lady on old school building About the school's statue This statue of Our Lady of Victories stood above the main doors of an old school building. We were asked to restore the statue as part of the renovations taking place to convert the building into a home. The school was built around 1860 and the statue is fashioned after those produced by Mayers and co. of Munich. This company was founded in 1847 by Josef Gabriel Mayer and still exists today, albeit now produc

Statue of St. Ambrose. The sandstone statue of St. Ambrose standing in the corner of the sanctuary holds a book and writing quill. The...

The first statue of Our Lady of Lourdes The statue at the grotto of Lourdes is the work of sculptor Joseph-Hughes Fabisch. He was renowned as a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, and became its director in 1874. The statue is his most famous work. It was commissioned by the Lacour sisters who wanted a statue faithful to Bernadette's description. A small plaster statue had been placed in the grotto which seemed inadequate for the growing numbers of the faithful t

Restoring a statue of Saint Joan of Arc. Restoring Statue of Saint Joan Visionary & Martyr We are much accustomed to seeing St. Joan dressed in armour ready for battle, yet this lovely statue by Rafl of Paris depicts St. Joan in a more subdued mood during one of her visions. In this attitude, she reminds us that being attentive to God's voice, prepares us for life's battles. Once restored the statue's new home will be a Girl's school in France. Surface damage I am uncertain w

Carved in Belgium 1858, restored in the U.K. 2018 ​Father wanted his Gothic stations of the cross to look as beautiful as possible. Created in 1858, the stations needed a sensitive approach to refurbishment, ensuring any new repairs married well with the age of the artworks. Make do and Mend The stations had been restored once before, in 1948, just after the war. During this period, some makeshift changes had been made, the bright colours of the frames had been painted over i

Praise Him with Strings and Pipe! This Nativity shepherd is from a 40 inch plaster nativity set. It had become rather grubby and damaged...

Appreciation for the art of Saint Supplice One producer of religious statuary, which I encounter often, is "Maison Raffl". The studio had...

This lovely Pieta, originally by Meyers of Munich, had last been polychromed in the 1930's (The decorative artist had dated his work to tell us so!) Now 70 years later, it was due a complete makeover. The colours of the figure had oxidised, and the base was broken in several places. The halos had also tarnished and needed attention - the decorative detail on Mary's cloak was generally faded. Repairing the hand of Jesus 1. Here is a hairline split in the index finger. Seems li

Birmingham oratory crucifix & canopy after restoration It was a cold wet morning in early March when we drove into the greyness of the Birmingham Oratory car park. Passing under the archway into thecourtyard, we were met with a neat Italianate courtyard. The warm greeting we received from two of the brothers helped to shrug off the cold weather (which had felt all the colder for the early start we'd made from Liverpool that morning.) Weathering The brothers directed us to the

Replacement hand made for statue of Our Lady Mother When Fr. Simon brought this statue to us for repair, it came with lots of "extras"... "Extra" layers of paint, "extra" dust, and "extra" beads. The beads were mostly fragments of costume jewellery; the centre of the crown was filled with an abundance of silver "pearls" nesting in its centre. One bead was decorated with the word "Mother" which was touching to find. The hand which held a sceptre was missing. Queen of Heaven