Thursday, February 5, 2015

Repairing a Broken Statue - Stunning Angel

Last week I took the white walnut dresser to the buyer's house. My regular furniture delivery guy is away so I offered to drop it off myself and I'm so glad I did. Desley lives in a stunning home and she kindly gave me a tour. At the front of the house I commented on the beautiful angel statue below. I just love it...


I was stunned when Delsey said she'd painted it herself. She then told me that she'd completely repaired and rebuilt it. 




Pick me up off the floor, people!


Some people are so clever and creative.

Originally it was a brown ceramic statue but it got knocked over and shattered. Instead of panicking, (okay a little panic may have ensued) Delsey gathered all the pieces and slowly rebuilt it from the bottom up. She placed the broken pieces in order from feet up, using Liquid Nails and letting each piece cure before adding the next piece to the body, so that it had strength to support the next block. So much patience  - but hey she WAS rebuilding an angel :)

Eventually the angel was rebuilt. Desley kind of mooshed the Liquid Nails around to cover some of the broken patches and make it smooth. When it was all solid and sturdy, Desley painted it all in ASCP Graphite and then gave a wash of ASCP Old White to bring out the detail. As you probably know there is no need to use primer when painting with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (or other chalk emulsions on the market). You do not need a top coat of wax on outdoor pieces. The sunlight and rain would ruin the waxed surface anyway.


You can still see where the cracks were but I think that they totally look like they were meant to be there and just add to the angel's magnificence.


Now where can I find an angel of my own...
to smash ...
to repair ...
to paint ...
to adore.

Thanks Desley for letting me share. I loved the tour of your beautiful house and chatting to you. I look forward to seeing the walnut dresser next to your fireplace.

Fiona xx

5 comments:

  1. Wonder why she chose liquid nails???

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rather than?? It's a fantastic glue and she probably had it on had. It's paintable and good for outdoors. What else would you suggest Rose?
      Thanks Fiona

      Delete
    2. I never knew it could be used for that! I guess we learn something new all the time! I would not have even attempted to repair it, so she is braver than me!
      Rose

      Delete
  2. I love the cracks it makes it appear more antique and authentic...what a great job...reminds of something you would find in a cemetery but as I love old cemeteries..its beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  3. So strange to find this post today. I just acquired an angel and decided to paint with charcoal color chaulk paint. I was going to patina it, but these is more of what I really want for my new beauty to stand over in watch by the pool area. With the white chaulk paint, do you put on with a dry brush and wipe continuously to achieve the look? This is my first attempt at this, so any help is greatly appreciated!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to comment! Sorry if you have trouble commenting, you can always email me at lilyfieldlife@bigpond.com