2014 Artisans Road Trip artist Karen Ruddy has been busy this summer! Karen finished a commission over
at the Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend, Iowa, contracting for work on the
restoration of mosaics throughout the Grotto. The grant was for five weeks of
work but ten weeks were spent working on in-place and new mosaic panels on the
East Wall of the Courtyard.
Karen completed half (14 - foot long -mosaics) on one side of the pool around
the statue of Michael the Arc Angel, and four 3x1 foot panels that will be implanted
in the East Wall of the Courtyard when the leaks that blew out the hundred year old mosaic panels are found and
repaired.
Ruddy says If
you have never visited the Grotto, you might consider a trip there. It is a
truly holy place. Father Dobberstein, the German priest that was stationed
there in the early years of the twentieth century built it over his lifetime.
There is a statue of him on the grounds and his work is known worldwide through
the SAMA (Society of American Mosaic Artists) conferences. In fact, the last
one Karen attended, the first presenter was a woman from France who studied mosaics
all over the world and the first frame shown on the big screen was The West
Bend Grotto in the middle of the U.S.A.
The
tours are well worth a person's time as you learn things about Father's talent and ingenuity.
For example, he made stones by melting children's crayons and glass during the
war years when he could not obtain rocks, minerals, or Smalti glass for his
grotto walls. You will find some in the base of the stations, along the way of the cross.
The Restoration Expert
wanted Karen to harvest the old gold Smalti and use it instead of new. The artist had
already started building the panels when he called from Wisconsin, so she
finished the one with the new Smalti as an extra project and began grinding the
cement off all sides of each small piece to prepare it for implanting into the
newly restored substrait. The pool project was really difficult as Ruddy had to
hammer and chisel each piece out of the original mosaic so that she could create
an even surface for the new Smalti image. That was after she clambered over a
three foot high metal fence, the only way to get to the work site.
The artist states that if she is still around next summer, she may get to complete the fourteen mosaics on
the other side of the pool.
And Remember - this year's Artisans Road Trip event will be held the second weekend of October on Saturday - October 11 from 9AM - 5PM and Sunday - October 12 from Noon - 5PM! See you then!
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