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CARVER (CORRECTED) Feb-22-2008 (740 words) With photo posted Feb. 21. xxxn
At age 90, Precious Blood sister who is an artist still going strong
By Catholic News Service
DAYTON, Ohio (CNS) -- Most people looking at a block of wood or stone see ... a block of wood or stone. But Precious Blood Sister Eileen Tomlinson apparently thinks like the great Renaissance artist Michelangelo.
According to legend, Michelangelo said that when he looked at a block of marble he saw the figure within, waiting to be released.
Last winter, Sister Eileen looked at a large log of walnut wood and saw more than what met the eye. She saw Mother Maria Anna Brunner, the Swiss-born foundress of the Sisters of the Precious Blood. And she soon went to work to free her.
In their 174-year history, the Dayton-based Sisters of the Precious Blood have had no shortage of talented women, artists who work in almost every medium. But Sister Eileen's talents range across an incredibly wide artistic spectrum: oil, acrylic and watercolor painting, pen-and-ink illustration, calligraphy, sculpture and woodcarving.
Trained as an artist, Sister Eileen was an art teacher for many years in Ohio and California before she "retired" to the motherhouse, called Salem Heights, in 1997.
Since then she has been the unofficial artist-in-residence at the motherhouse, in constant demand for her artistic work.
Among her most recent creations were illustrations for a commemorative booklet prepared to honor the 2007 sister jubilarians, and illustrations in the report of the congregation's general council presented at its assembly last June.
The newest statue of Mother Brunner is just one in a long line of smaller predecessors. For several years now, Sister Eileen's statuettes of the foundress, in different sizes, have graced displays at congregational events and have been given as gifts to sisters for special occasions.
Because of the demand for the statues, it was impossible for Sister Eileen to keep making them herself. From her original sculpture, resin copies were made, but even now that they're commercially produced, Sister Eileen still adds her personal touch: She lovingly hand-colors each one.
When Sister Eileen heard that the congregation's Maria Stein Center was looking for a statue of Mother Brunner but was short of the funds estimated for a large piece, she volunteered to help. She knew she couldn't make a carving large enough for the shrine's outdoor statue garden, but felt a smaller statue for indoors was manageable.
The time commitment and sheer physical labor involved in transforming a large piece of wood into a finished statue is considerable. Wielding a heavy carver's mallet and carving tools is a challenge at any age -- and Sister Eileen celebrated her 90th birthday last year. But she was undeterred in beginning this labor of love.
"I guess I am just so fond of Mother Brunner that I felt I wanted to help out," she explained.
A donor provided the large walnut log. Almost 3 feet tall and 17 inches in diameter, the log weighed 70 pounds.
Unfortunately, the log was greenwood, or "wet." Normally it takes seven years to dry out wood sufficiently to work with it for a sculpture. But the sister-artist didn't have the luxury of that time; the Maria Stein Center was hoping for its Mother Brunner statue soon.
After the log's arrival in December 2006, it was set aside to dry for a month. Randy Siler, a motherhouse groundskeeper, used a chain saw to remove the bark and outer layer of wood to allow Sister Eileen to work on it, and brought it up to her fourth-floor art studio.
She devoted up to two hours a day on the carving, from mid-January through most of April 2007.
The wood had some cracks and was badly split in places, so Sister Eileen consulted an experienced woodworker who told her how to fill the cracks. That done, she touched up the filled areas with paint and finally rubbed the finished piece with a good coating of paste wax.
Those who view the statue agree that the wood's cracks and imperfections add a special beauty to the work. This rustic Mother Brunner, complete with her Swiss bonnet, lace apron and shoulder sack of bread, has a mature look about her, weathered by life's pain and grace.
Last fall, the carving of the foundress was blessed and enshrined in a place of honor at the Maria Stein Center. There, Sister Eileen's labor of love is now enjoyed by many pilgrims.
END
Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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