Christmas is coming and we may found out that our baby Jesus and other ornaments were damaged, no need to worry! Carolina Hoz de Vila reports for La Prensa:
45 Years dedicated to heal religious images
Juan, artist’s restoration of births
The craftsman works in the repair of parts of plaster, ceramic, porcelain, stucco, wood, and wax. They cost from five to 1,000 bolivianos.
45 years ago, Juan Machicado is dedicated to the restoration of religious images. However, it is in the Christmas season, when his talent embellishes family treasures that remain for several generations.
Regardless of the size or the material of the ‘births’ [the custom is to portray the birth of Jesus], particularly of the child Jesus, the main purpose of the artist is making exact replicas of the damaged parts without leaving any evidence.
“We have to look at every detail of the child; do his nails, get exact skin and carve tone until you have a proportional size. Often images are old and have great sentimental value, therefore, care should be taken”.
It tells that parts can be made of wax, plaster, stucco, ceramic, wood or porcelain. “There are still images of the colonial era which are, mostly, of plaster. “Their hair are real because they are implants capillaries of grandparents or a deceased family member”.
The craftsman said that restoration of the parts time fluctuates between one week and three months, depending on the difficulty of the order. Most of the arrangements is made in the fingers, arms, feet and head of religious images.
“The effigies of wax are the most difficult to repair, because they melt with hand contact and also demand precision in the carving.” The antiques, by being exclusive designs for each family, don’t have molds and their repair takes more time.”
Prices vary according to the deterioration, size and material, from five to more than Bs1,000. “The cost of the restoration does not exceed Bs30 boliviano. Charges are also made per fingers”.
He said that although many times it is cheaper to buy a new part, some customers prefer to pay more to retain its family relic. “The greatest value of the images is sentimental, especially if it’s antique pieces”
The art of healing. In 45 years, Machicado received all kinds of breakage from the baby Jesus until images of Saints, such as the Virgen del Carmen and St. James the apostle. The first piece that was restored was the child of the Franciscan order, where he learned the techniques of restoration.
Such was his passion for this artisan branch, that he did not stop working in this area since then.
The artist said that to restore religious pieces, artisans must translate the expression of images with accuracy, since they are revered by those who profess the Catholic faith.
The artist works in his Studio, located between the streets Murillo and Cochabamba, in the city of La Paz, where cures the sacred images and do, also, at the request of some Catholic churches, religious effigies.
There are families that after converting of RELIGION choose to deposit A children’s births on the altars of temples.
Craftsmen like Juan Machicado deserve our recognition, kudos to all of them, for helping us preserve our family and religion ties!
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