Get R Done Friday - A Lost Art!

Welcome to this weeks' segment of GET R DONE FRIDAY!

If you are visiting and would like to join us, please do! It is very easy! All you have to do is:

• Create post about a project you have completed - it can be something 'crafty', remodeling, planting a vine or a vineyard - it's totally up to you!

• Link in with the Mr. Linky at the bottom of this post.

• Visit all the participates and leave a comment so they know you have stopped by.

NOTE: Be sure to refer viewers back to my blog so everyone can see who is participating today, and if you like - include the GET R DONE FRIDAY picture button (seen at the top of today's post) in your write-up. Please have your post up before linking in with a perma-link. Thanks so much!Some years back, mom had repaired and repainted life size statues of the Saints at her home Church. She has photo albums of before and after pictures. The statues are so old - made of plaster or cement - and were deteriorating. Some even had porcelain or glass eyes that were so real it appeared the statue was looking right at you!

She did a fabulous job, and continued getting calls from folks that had cherished relics in their homes needing a touch only she could provide. Some she accepted payment for in the form of donations, some folks just could not pay - and still today she gets calls as her name is passed from here to there. A few weeks ago she got one of those calls...so I decided to go over and learn the 'lost art of statue repair'!Whoops - this isn't the statue, but I think it is a funny photo, so I'll leave it here!

Here we go - this statue is called the Infant of Prague, and it is extremely old. The statue was originally designed to wear different crowns and elaborate gowns during different holy days observed by the Catholic Church. The plaster on the chest area was broken away, right down to some support wires that go to the head and arms. The first steps were to clean the areas carefully using a soft brush. Then, reattachment of any portions of plaster and chips was necessary. They were held in place with a special cement glue. The final filling in was done with Plaster of Paris and more special resins. When dry, sanding to a smooth finished shape was done.Many of the pieces were usable, but a large cavity still needed to be filled. Mom uses dental tools to do some of the finer more detailed molding, shaping, and sculpting. Unfortunately, I misplaced my files of the finished statue, but you can get the idea of how smooth the plaster has to be before paint is applied. Mom does very well at matching paints to the original color, and she touched up the hair and the nose before calling the owner to come and pick up her treasure. It turned out very well, and the lady was so pleased!

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