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

Saint Kostka to St. Neri Father arrived with a broken statue of Saint Stanislav Kostka for us to transform into Saint Philip Neri. Saint Stan was 17 when he passed from this world, whereas Saint Philip was 79. His features were soft and immature compared to the heavy browed and bearded Philip. in regard to ageing the figure, Father was happy to make a compromise, and asked us to portray Saint Philip in his 40's.; A good choice because working on an existing statue has it

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

Saint Joseph is a wonderful saint. As the parent of a family and a man who worked with his hands, we chose him as the patron of our...

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

Ireland has three Patron saints; St. Patrick, Saint Columcile, and Saint Brigid of Kildare. This statue of St. Brigid had been restored...

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

Making a statue of St. Catherine of Alexandria Statue of St. Catherine for Burbage church Making the statue of St. Catherine of Alexandria Earlier this year,(2017) Reverend Hall commissioned me to make a 44 inch statue of St. Catherine of Alexandria for his parish (of the same name). Reverend Hall sent me some photos of a carved wooden flatback of St. Catherine, which he had admired. This gave me a starting point to supply some sketches of how the finished statue might look.

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

Weathered Saint Patrick statue The head teacher of St. Patrick's catholic school asked if we could restore the statue of their patron saint which had once stood outside the building. St. Patrick was not at his best, his base had crumbled, the lower half fractured in two, and the crosier broken. The pigment on the eyes had turned a bright yellow, and this put him on the edge of - well, scary - looking to be honest! The statue of St. Patrick had been repaired so many times, tha