RESTORATION OF WOODEN ORNAMENTS | RECONSTRUCTION OF CARVED ORNAMENTAL DETAIL | Restauration Listed Buildings

Restoration workshop, Patrick Damiaens

Patrick Damiaens

RESTORATION and RECONSTRUCTION of WOODCARVINGS and ORNAMENTS.

Restoring church furniture, panelling, pulpits, confessionals, ... is often necessary for the preservation of our patrimony.

It is our duty to preserve this furniture, some of which is hundreds of years old, for future generations. 

Sometimes fragments of the sculpture are missing or the woodcarving is damaged in such a way that the need arises to replace it. If the broken-off fragments of the woodcarving were preserved, we are able to reattach these in an appropriate manner. If the ornaments are missing completely, we will take into consideration the shape of the ornament or of the remnants, if any are still present. 

For the more complex cases (this often involves sculptures) a plasticine model is created to visually aid the woodcarver during his work.

After thorough research of the remaining woodcarving, its style, character and the plane of fracture we are able to form a clear image of the ornament and the way it originally looked.

As the restoration progresses, alterations to the carving are kept to a minimum. The objective is to make sure the woodcarving stays as close to its original state as possible. Broken pieces of the carving are glued back together again. Missing pieces are cut to shape.

Reconstruction of Liege Style Furniture

Important furniture that still has remnants of carvings or from which certain pieces are missing can be fully restored thanks to historical research on the basis of pictures, documents, markings and the character of the carving itself. We always pay close attention to ensure that the authentic character of the period piece is preserved.

This way we prevent that valuable pieces are lost forever and help them find back their previous lustre.

Reconstruction of wooden sculptures

The woodcarving workshop of Patrick Damiaens is also specialized in restoring en reconstructing wooden sculptures. It sometimes happens that a pulpit, confessional or other piece of church furniture is missing part of its ornamentation or carvings.

This often involves sculptures in the form of limbs (e.g. fingers). By studying the character of the sculpture and possibly creating a plasticine model we are able to form an image of the original woodcarving.

Reconstruction of carved Wall-Paneling

A new dove for a pulpit (St-Anna church  Bruges)

When restoring a sculpture, a lot of attention is paid to detail, in order to make sure that the reconstructed sculpture blends in perfectly with its surroundings.  Where possible, the same wood is used as that of the piece of furniture, the sculpture or the surroundings, to ensure a proper finish (colour,…) of the restored sculpture. This way it becomes one with its surroundings again.

 
                           For more information: Patrick damiaens

                             Patrick Damiaens is Member of Pearls of Craftsmanship

LIEGE STYLE FURNITURE | Handcrafted PERIOD STYLE FURNITURE | HANDCARVED CUSTOM MADE FURNITURE

Reproduction and personal creations. 

Liége-Style Furniture of the 18th-century.

The Belgian “Liége style furniture” with its typical ornamentation is undoubtedly the most refined period piece in its kind for the connoisseur.
For the ornamental woodcarver as well as for the Furniture-maker it remains quite an endowment and challenge to hold this 18th-century artistic branch to its highest level.

LIEGE-STYLE FURNITURE

 
The creation of a ‘Liége style’ piece of Furniture starts at the drawing table. Each technical detail, the framework and each bit of ornamental decoration is drawn fullscale.

Liege-style woodcarving

 
With respect, patience and a lot of artistic craft the woodcarver carves each motive until he finds the right expression and character. Hence, each piece of Furniture, realisation and application is unique  and cannot be executed twice in the same way. Thus, each creation obtains a timeless and exclusive  aura and will always radiate a certain value for people who want to decorate their interiors to the highest
level of craftmanship.

Liège style furniture is of an exceptional quality, profuse yet delicately decorated and of a solid structure.

It reached its peak in the XVIIIth century.

More information:

SITE:PATRICK DAMIAENS 

MEMBER OF PEARLS OF CRAFTSMANSHIP

CARVING A LIEGE-STYLE ORNAMENT | LIEGE STYLE FURNITURE | CUSTOM-MADE WOODCARVING

The different stages for creating an Liege Style ornament in wood.

  

1 - The first job consists of making a rough sketch using a red sketching pencil. The pattern may come from an original model (on condition that any imperfections in it have been removed) or be a personal creation, produced in the same spirit as in the 18th century.

2 - The rough sketch is then completely rubbed out. The exact shape however, which is thickened with a pencil, is still preserved. Subsequent alterations remain possible at this stage. This phase is very important (because a poor design automatically means a poor end result).

3 - The correct design is redrawn on tracing paper and at the same time fixed onto the wood by means of drawing pins. The design is then transferred onto the wood using tracing paper and a scriber.The pattern can now be found on the panel.

4 - The ornamentist roughly removes the wood surrounding the design by means of a router, thus creating a surface suited for carving.

5 - He removes any rough edges and excess wood from the surface using a home-made scraper.

6 - The actual carving can now take place. This phase is called modeling. Many years of study and in-depth experience are of crucial importance during this phase.

7 - This is the phase where we begin to notice the importance of appropriately handling the router. During the modeling stages the original drawing disappears. The pattern on the panel is later redrawn by means of a marker.

 8 - The design is traced correctly. At this stage wood chisels are used for drawing purposes. One should be careful not to carve into the surface, leaving the possibility to make some minor alterations when necessary.

9 - Excess wood surrounding the design is removed.

10 - The surface is now properly finished. Any rough edges and excess wood are removed with the scraper.

11 - The extension of the ogee, positioned by the cabinetmaker, is done. It is essential that this be identical to the part fixed by machine.

12 - This is the most important phase of the pattern. Ornaments are measured to perfection. A proper understanding of the depth and relief of the ornament and the ability to estimate the maximum depth of the ornament are essential, as are routine and experience in handling the material. The use of plaster models and visual material can be very useful during this stage.

13 - The panel is finished and can now be returned to the cabinetmaker in order for it to be treated and incorporated into the intended piece of furniture.

More information about wood carvings and ornaments, Liège and Aachen Style Furniture.
My Website:www.patrickdamiaens.info

www.patrickdamiaens.be