Ever wonder how it feels restoring an old painting, sculpture, architecture or any other art forms? Restoring may help preserve the essence of an art form especially if something sentimental keeps the art alive and kicking. Picture fades, painting does too. Even a form of architecture like a building or mostly old churches. There are architects advocating themselves to preserve the entirety of a whole because of its ancient purposes, and it has something that keeps the tiny line between the past and the present meeting with each other. As someone once told me, “Live for the present. Stop reliving the past. But never forget.” the past has been executed, one breath is different from the other but the consciousness dwells until willingly forgotten.
I had the chance to “restore” one of our oldest religious statue, that has been with us since we moved into our new house 8 years ago. Before anything else, I would like to tell you a story.
My mom told me how she got the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, which rests on our grotto at the moment, while I was doing the job. She told me the statue was sold to her a week before we moved. Because of the scarcity of cash, she requested to pay a downpayment only and if my mom had already enough money, she promised to pay her seller full. She paid 200 pesos crushed out from her debt of 1400 pesos. My mom told her seller (for I forgot she ever mentioned if it was a man or a woman) that once her seller couldn’t find us during his collection of debt, he should ask for our new address here in Liloan from our neighbor down the road. The transaction was completed and the seller was happy to agree with my mother’s term, which is… quite uncertain and not trustworthy for me. But no. My mom sticks to her words, she’s not the type to run away from her debts.
Shortly after a few days, we’ve unpacked all our belongings and did some minor adaptation to the new environment. It seemed pretty hard at first but, since I was still in the 5th grade that time, I was unconscious of the “sentimental value”.
My mom hasn’t forgotten about the full payment yet and this time, she had enough money already but to her surprise, when she asked our neighbor down the road about her seller, the neighbor never saw the seller my mother was talking about. Nobody asked for our new address ever since we moved out.
It’s pretty weird, my mom thought, because it feels like the Virgin was meant to be with us.. in our new home. It appeared like it was just given to us. If that seller was a scumbag, it would’ve still asked for our new address and would do everything to get with us so he could have more money than what my mom originally gave, right? Right. But no, he/she didn’t.
Miracle
A relative visited our new home just after the blessing and helped us with a few furniture movements inside the house. My mother told me, she saw Kuya Ariel rearranging the candles on our grotto, where the Virgin was located, and cleaned the altar. She then told him that he should pray and ask the Virgin for a callback on a job opportunity which he was applying for at that time, outside of the country (I forgot what the country was). He started praying to the Lady of Lourdes and after he was finished with the household, he left for home.
Mother told me an interesting thing happened.
Kuya Ariel went back and proceeded directly to the grotto and thank the Virgin Mary for what he was longing for came true. Immediately. Fast. wow. He got a callback and was told to submit all of his requirements because he was assigned.
I hope my mother is not lying. I don’t believe in miracles, you see.
Back to the statue
My Chuck (my very naughty dog), found a very interesting toy in the yard. Inside the grotto. One very fine day. I didn’t see how it happened. I just heard the noises outside. And then I saw the Virgin Mary, still in its very awkward praying position, but almost destroyed. I shouted for my mom because I know how she would react upon seeing one of her religious things getting ripped into pieces by a beast. There I saw my mother running and screaming at Chuck. With a hanger on my mother’s hand, she gestured as if about to whip him with it which of course, I would strongly prohibit her to do. Okay. So there I was shouting for the protection of my beast, and my mother running to save her statue from misery.
See how it was almost destroyed. Cracks and holes everywhere. Poor lady. Out of the blue, I suggested I restore it. My mother being enthusiastic as she is, agreed with me and started to act like some kind of Interior Designing client, instructing me what she likes best, what she wants me to do and stuffs like that. I guess she was just being a mother, that is all. I used my gouache paint since we don’t have regular paint in the house and I think it’s much better gouache’d. It will be as if I was painting on a plaster of Paris figurines like what they’ve got in Let’s Paint! @ SM. They used watercolor there which is even what, transparent compared with gouache which is more opaque. In a way, I could create strong colors to it so I don’t have to waste it at the same time by applying layers after layers.
Unfortunately, I was not able to save my gouache paints. I am still learning to adapt with the whole opacity and the control of water which may have caused me to do unnecessary applications because what I see was still transparent but later on, when it dries, it becomes richer, which for my part (as a beginner) was a fact being driven out from my realization only DURING my working time.
After Look
After the whole thing was done, I developed a headache which I think was caused because I went out to play in the rain with Chuck some few minutes whilst taking a break. I find it depressing somehow. Being just there, painting the statue. I even saw a very tiny yellow worm on my paintbrush. I guess it was an organism that uses the statue for shelter and provisions already. Inside this statue was a forest. Full of soil, webs and stems. Earth and things. This statue may look like it’s heavy but no. It’s just air.
So I think this statue is not really worth a thousand and four hundred pesos, perhaps. But either ways, faith.
I got the blush right, right? Not too much make up? AAAAAAAMbut
workplace
before and after
alien making earthly notes 