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With so much restoration work to accomplish, we occasionally take a little time out to produce a few of our own exclusive artworks and make them available for purchase. For 2019 two copies of the Risen Christ statue (sculpt and poly chromed by myself) will be available. This statue is 38 inches (97 cm) tall and cast in plaster. It is a new edition of an earlier model. My vision for the Risen Christ Statue Jesus has risen from the tomb, and floats above the stony earth. His posture is heroic, his gaze steady and re-assuring. His foot barely touches the ground. His white garments trail the ground as he ascends. His right hand is turned in a gesture of openness, His wounds clearly visible. The fabric has loosened from his right shoulder, and a light breeze swells his mantle giving a sense of freedom and weightlessness. His left arm appears tightly bound with fabric like the winding cloth of a shroud. He points to the wound in his side as though to say; " See and believe!" Ordering a Copy of this statue
If you are interested in obtaining one of our "Risen Christ" statues in time for Easter of this year, orders and a deposit must be in by Candlemass - February 2nd. We can cast our figures to order by special request, (at any time of year) - a lead time of two months is required for the casting and polychroming of one of our unique figures. Please contact us for further details. (Easter Sunday 2019 is on the 21st of April.)  Days before we closed for Christmas break, I visited a church to refurbish the carved symbols on the altar. These were of the alpha and omega, with a Pelican in the centre, feeding its young. The Carving of the Pelican was looking rather dull. It was lost in a sea of beautiful deep green marble. The story it was meant to tell had become unreadable. The P.P. wanted to revive that story, so that he could better explain the Eucharist to the children.  The story goes something like this: In medieval times, it was thought that the Pelican preened feathers from her breast until it bled. With her own blood, she fed her young chicks to ensure their survival. The Pelican became a symbol of the Eucharist; Christ feeding the faithful with His own body and blood. I might add to the story by saying "Strengthened and matured, the young birds find that they have the strength to leave the earthly nest and soar heavenward." The source of this legend has been lost in time, yet it gave rise to the intriguing Catholic symbol we see in our churches today.   Earlier this year I completed a commission from Fr. H to make a 44 inch statue of St.Catherine for his parish. Revd. H sent me some images of his ideal "Catherine" and how the finished statue might look. The range of images were eclectic in style. Some very simple and others highly decorated. From these we extracted which elements of the figure design were essential, and which could be achieved in practical terms. To create the figure I used water based clay which I find more responsive to the touch than the less traditional plastilene (plasticene -type) modelling materials. The following images show some of the stages in producing the figure Designing the figure.
Sketching IdeasSketches are an important part of helping the client see how the sculpture may look when finished. This older statue of St.Catherine shows how the proportions of the wheel had to change in order to make sense in three dimensions. (Note: The sword for this statue is missing.) To the right is a sketch combining elements of the flat back, and my interpretation of St. Catherine.
Building the figure SupportTo support the weight of clay used to build the figure, David constructed a rotating platform and scaffolding jig. This would hold the armature which has to be shaped to fit the pose of the figure. It has to be strong enough to support the clay, in this case around 50 + kilos.
Modelling St. Catherine's faceIts helpful to have a live model from which to make notes when planning to sculpt a figure. Yet an artist will not always copy this slavishly, consideration is given to creating a more pleasing shape than would appear in reality. In the same way a portrait artist, may strive to bring out his subjects "best" features.
The head is sculpted separately, and added to the torso.  Moulding and castingOnce the clay model was completed, we made a mould for the figure. and separate moulds for the hands, crown and dove. These were cast seperately and attached later to the plaster cast. Once the plaster was fully dry, polychroming could begin. Consideration was given to the colours of the clothing, the detail of the cloak clasp, and the dove. Fr. H asked that the dove be coloured like that of an African species which would have populated the Jordan in biblical times. The complexion, eye and hair colour were matched to that of his beloved granddaughter. Finally, the statue was complete and ready to display for the feast of St.Catherine on 25th of November.   The following set of stations of the cross belong to a London Church. Father wanted them to look as beautiful as possible, but hold back on some areas where damage was minimum to retain their sense of age. I think this was the right approach, as the stations were new in 1858, and part of their beauty was in their age.  The figures which make up the tableaus, are beautifully carved, and originate from Belgium or Germany. As with many old church pieces their provenance has been lost with the passage of time. We restored the figures where paint had flaked, and replaced missing spears and clubs.  The spires and gilded acanthus leaves were broken, along with some of the crosses topping the frames. We found that the wooden frames had been more colourful, the tan brown which now predominated was not original, but a change made just after the war.   It appeared that when the stations has been restored in 1948, new back grounds had been added, perhaps the originals had deteriorated to such an extent that this was deemed necessary. The image below shows the crudity of this " new" addition compared to the attention given to the frames and figures.   When we visit various churches, parishioners often tell us how unhappy they are about the scenic element to their stations of the cross having been painted out altogether. We felt it important to address this problem, not only to restore some of the original integrity of the artworks, but also to enhance the story - telling aspect of the set. (That is the Catechetical element.) The following images show the eleventh and twelfth stations with backgrounds re-painted in th spirit of the originals.   |
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Jeanette Lewis
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Catholic statue repair & church artworks by Lewis and Lewis:
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