There is something I personally find particularly fascinating about the process of woodcarving, particularly the carving of fully three dimensional sculptures. Perhaps it is that 'Michelangelian' notion of the entrapped statue emerging, as though from a cocoon, from its block (in this case of wood), perhaps it is in part because of the saturation of the market with cheaper, less qualitative, plaster statues (or, worse yet, resin), or perhaps it is merely my own childhood love of woodworking -- the scent of the wood and the sawdust is something I can still remember to this day.
We're fortunate to have many active woodcarver studios operating within the ecclesiastical sphere today, Hape Sculpture, Mussner G. Vincenzo, ALBL Oberammergau to name only three whom LAJ has collaborated with over the years. Today, however, I wish to specifically step into the workshops of Hape Sculpture who are located in the town of Lajen, located in the north of Italy near the Austrian border to look at a project they undertook for the Chiesa di Don Bosco located in Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto in Sicily to create a sculpture of Maria Ausiliatrice (or, Mary, Help of Christians).
To my mind the process is as much as a part of the interest in woodcarving as in the final product. Seeing and understanding how the carvers manage to "pull" the final statue out of its raw materials and into its final form. If you've followed our posts on this topic before, you'll already know that once a design has been draughted out, these sculptures start with the selection of pieces of wood by the carvers which are typically then -- for larger, church sized statues -- glue together in order to form a single block of wood. Once this is done, a very rough hewn form of the sculpture starts to emerge.
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| Tools of the trade |
As the process of gradually, systematically refining this gradually takes place, the craftsman eventually will end up with a final, but still 'raw' product such as this.
But of course, this is not yet done -- though I am sure there is always a temptation to simply want to stop at this point. As pleasing as it is in its form, it is yet still unfinished, for just as the ancient Romans painted their marble sculptures -- they didn't leave them plain and white -- so to are wood-carved church sculptures traditionally also coloured, and this process is just as interesting as the carving itself.
In the case of this statue of Mary, Help of Christians, oils and gold leaf are employed in order to start to bring the statue to life. Here we can see how Mary's red dress begins to be coloured.
By the time the artisan is finished with their polychroming art, the statue now takes on a radically different form and sense from its raw counterpart. Here is the same statue, now completed and delivered to the client.
Of course, the key to excellent polychroming is also to be found in the use of colouring that is not too brash, and Hape Sculpture has certainly hit the mark here with a very nice approach of darkened shades that give the statue a more antique sense.
You can learn more about Hape Sculpture and their work on their website or by way of social media.
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