Gretchen’s work in restoration and repair of religious statuary is rooted in a deep love and respect for sacred art. Gretchen’s past experiences in plaster work, sculpting, painting, and other media have translated directly to the processes and materials knowledge needed to repair and restore these works of art from the past. Gretchen strongly believes that these pieces should be treasured and kept in service ; the work required to repair decades of wear and damage is truly a labor of love. She considers it an honor and a privilege to be tasked with this work.
Current project, winter 2024-25: St. Ann’s corpus restoration, Hebron ND
The age of this piece is unknown; however, St. Ann’s in Hebron was founded in 1906. Cemetery records do go back further than that, so it is assumed that this cast stone corpus dates to at least that date.
The biggest challenge is the sheer size of this statue. He is larger-than-life size, and we estimate the weight to be between 700 -1,000 pounds. It was a herculean effort to muscle Him into the studio. After the cleaning and repairs were made to the front, we had to enlist 5 guys just to turn him over to access the backside for cleaning and repair.
As of February, the majority of the cleaning has been accomplished. Lichen growth, bird poo, and general surface grime to start; then clearing out the material previously used to repair and fill cracks, random paint splatters, and rust spots.
Lichen growth is particularly troublesome; what you see on the surface is just the beginning. It grows down into the stone, damaging deep as it expands. Cleaning is almost a surgical process with having to kill the organics and removing the weakened, damaged stone until all the “green” is gone.
Before and after, current progress as of February 2024. Jesus’ front side has been deep cleaned, lichen destroyed and removed, and material applied to fill in and repair the damage. Larger areas of epoxy have yet to be detail sanded and blended to match the stone.
Repair-wise, the main damage is located on the arms. There are quite a few deep fissures on the main body, and the placard will need some reconstruction. Damage to His back is surprisingly “not so bad”. The majority of the cleaning is that black paint splatter, the deep crack at the waist, and some rot in the folds of the drape.
Once repairs are complete, we will assess and make a decision regarding paint (or not). As of this update (February), it appears that the material used for repairs is blending quite nicely, and paint will likely not be necessary. Additionally, having to give the entire project a skim coat of material to fill the pitting that is present on over 95% of the surface will likely negate the need for a clear topcoat.
Sts. Peter & Paul corpus restoration, winter 2023-24.
The exact age of this piece is unknown, but it is believed that our Jesus here has watched over the prairie at Sts. Peter & Paul Cemetery, in rural Grant County in southwestern North Dakota, for at least 120 years. Now that He is repaired, He is back in service at Peter & Paul.
This is the state that Jesus was in when He arrived at the studio. He has been repaired many times previously over the years; unfortunately those repairs have not held up to the elements.
All the paint had been stripped and the previous repairs had been removed. Detailing the hair and crown of thorns, clearing out the rest of the debris , and knocking back poorly done repairs that couldn’t be completely removed was next. The next step was sealing the cracks and sculpting the missing muscle structures, fingers, and toes.
I am so pleased with how much detail I was able to reveal by stripping and detailing out all that paint. Such a painstaking process but oh so satisfying.
The Madonna Flower Hummel statue, after researching extensively, is a “reproduction.” She is plaster, rather than porcelain. Mother Mary’s halo was missing a large section, Baby Jesus was missing the back of His neck, and was actually fully decapitated although still attached by the support post in the neck. Additionally, a significant section of the bottom of Mary’s mantle was also missing. All this damage was rebuilt from scratch, and then meticulously color matched and antiqued.
Creche pieces from St. Ann’s, Hebron ND. Each of these pieces had minor damage, including nicks in the plaster and multiple areas of paint wear. The age of this creche is unclear, other than the “Made in Germany” stamp on each piece, there seems to be no records of when the creche was acquired, donated, or purchased. It is thought that they are at least from the 1940’s or earlier. (If anyone has any information on age of these pieces or how they came to St. Ann’s, I’d love to hear what you know!)
Each of these figures was carefully cleaned and assessed; chipped plaster was filled in. The worst areas of damage were on the ram’s ear and Balthazar’s robe. All areas of chipped paint were meticulously retouched and blended in. I left the original paint and patina as intact as possible.