Homeless Jesus is coming to my studio!

Have you heard of the Homeless Jesus sculpture by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz?  The bronze sculpture by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz depicts Jesus, identifiable by the wounds on his feet, sleeping on a street bench wrapped in a blanket.
There are replicas located in prominent urban locations, such as Buenos Aires, Capernaum, New York, Madrid,  Melbourne, Rome and Singapore, Homeless Jesus now dots the globe. There are six replicas in Canada alone.

Thanks to an interesting series of events - I was asked to restore the Homeless Jesus sculpture that is currently located in Bay Village, Ohio. This particular sculpture made national headlines this year after someone made a 911 call about a homeless man on a bench. 



​  20 minutes after a replica of the sculpture was installed at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Bay Village, Ohio, a community member called the emergency department, mistaking it for a person in need. Saturday Night Live lampooned this story in a skit on their Oct. 17 show.

It really is a thought provoking piece. I knew what it looked like from images on the computer, but when I walked up to it in person - it is powerful. 

​"The statue has been described as a "visual translation" of the Gospel of Matthew passage in which Jesus tells his disciples, "as you did it to one of the least of my brothers, you did it to me".[2] Schmalz intended for the bronze sculpture to be provocative, admitting, "That's essentially what the sculpture is there to do. It's meant to challenge people."

This particular piece has been roughed up a bit and needs touched up ....so 
JESUS IS COMING to my studio!!! 
  (the resin Jesus, not the risen Jesus)   He'll be hanging out in the warm space getting all pampered and then he'll be picked up and delivered back in time for his birthday.  (translation, I have him until December 22) 


This is a surprising extra project to tackle on an already busy month, but how could I not?!?!


   
​

---