Spring Break
St. Gabriel returns to New Orleans church
Valerie Faciane/Religion News Service
Issue date: 8/19/07 Section: Divine Intervention
- < prev Page 2 of 2
"The interfaith element of this group has become so important to all of us," Hollick said, "because what it makes us realize is that there are a lot more similarities in different faith communities than there are differences."
It took the expertise of Handler, a furniture craftsman; Joe Brenman, a sculptor; Leon Zakurdayev, a Russian-born wood carver; Philip Housner, a wood turner; Joe Winter, a sculptor; and his wife, Kathy, a painter, to put St. Gabriel's statue back together.
The ICBG members first came to New Orleans a year ago to help renovate the church and parishioners' homes. At the time, Handler and Brenman were able to restore minor fractures in a statue of Mary on site.
But the statue of St. Gabriel was so heavily damaged that they asked Doussan, the parish priest, to ship it to Philadelphia for restoration. The statue was packed in separate pieces for transportation; all but the wings arrived at their destination.
Handler knew that Zakurdayev, the woodcarver, was the best person to re-create the wings, but the only point of reference he had was a picture.
Handler said the picture was taken before the statue was shipped off, "of me holding up one wing, Joe (Brenman) holding another wing and Doug (Doussan) standing behind."
Using the picture, Zakurdayev and the others were able to extrapolate the dimensions and recreate the wings. "He is one of the best in the world in what he does," Handler said of Zakurdayev. "He carved every feather in the wings."
Fifteen-year-old Mia Malone, who is blind, ran her fingers across the etchings on the wings as her father, Daryl, stood by her side. "It's beautiful," Mia said.
It took the expertise of Handler, a furniture craftsman; Joe Brenman, a sculptor; Leon Zakurdayev, a Russian-born wood carver; Philip Housner, a wood turner; Joe Winter, a sculptor; and his wife, Kathy, a painter, to put St. Gabriel's statue back together.
The ICBG members first came to New Orleans a year ago to help renovate the church and parishioners' homes. At the time, Handler and Brenman were able to restore minor fractures in a statue of Mary on site.
But the statue of St. Gabriel was so heavily damaged that they asked Doussan, the parish priest, to ship it to Philadelphia for restoration. The statue was packed in separate pieces for transportation; all but the wings arrived at their destination.
Handler knew that Zakurdayev, the woodcarver, was the best person to re-create the wings, but the only point of reference he had was a picture.
Handler said the picture was taken before the statue was shipped off, "of me holding up one wing, Joe (Brenman) holding another wing and Doug (Doussan) standing behind."
Using the picture, Zakurdayev and the others were able to extrapolate the dimensions and recreate the wings. "He is one of the best in the world in what he does," Handler said of Zakurdayev. "He carved every feather in the wings."
Fifteen-year-old Mia Malone, who is blind, ran her fingers across the etchings on the wings as her father, Daryl, stood by her side. "It's beautiful," Mia said.
Be the first to comment on this story