That is a phrase that describes my recent years of work in the Arts. Earning an Undergraduate degree in Art and Education over 49 years ago and only enjoying the opportunity to become fairly serious about my Art after I retired in 2004. I dabbled in Ceramics, Sculpture, Mosaics, Painting, Jewelry Design, Stain Glass, and the most monetarily successful endeavor, Statuary Restoration.
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The first experience came when Holy Family Parish in Emmetsburg, Iowa commissioned me to restore the hundred and fifty year old badly scaling Stations of the Cross in what began as St. Mary's Catholic church. Having toured other like church statuary projects that were garishly painted vibrant glossy colors I decided to keep the surfaces muted and matte and only paint Jesus in bright white robes keeping the other figures in tones of linen and ochre. Extremely favorable comments by church members upon completion satisfied my decisions. You many see the entire 14 Stations at Holy Family Catholic Church in Emmetsburg, Iowa.
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My next foray into Statuary Restoration came when one of the parishioners in the Catholic Church in Fonda, Iowa commissioned me to repair the 600 pound Blessed Mother and Baby Jesus statue that sits in a grotto in front of the church. It took most of the Football team in town to unload it into my studio. The Statue was requisitioned by the family of a second World War soldier many years ago and had been damaged in a storm. It is a most beautiful piece of work from an artist in Italy. See it, in front of the Catholic Church in Fonda. The before and after pictures are seen above.
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My next adventure in Statuary Restoration came when the previous Director of Queen of Peace in Sioux City, requested a study of what to do about the Stations of the Cross that have been enclosed in plexi glass out in their Gardens for thirty years and were rapidly disintegrating. The finished restoration of Station Nine took many weeks and turned out to be more labor-intensive than expected and the board decided to buy new modern Stations for their Way of the Cross . This station was in many pieces when I started reconstructing it. The completed Station is on display in the Queen of Peace Board Room, Sioux City, Iowa.
Thus is the Mastery of one aspect of Art in my life.
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Fascinating. Thanks for the information. I did a study with a student in Art Restoration (2008) but we worked on paintings. It is great to see damaged works restored and come to life again.
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