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Liturgical Art
Some pieces may not be listed on this particular page. Please see the
Catalog for a more complete (alphabetical) listing.
Also, sculptures have been grouped by subject matter or project. These links are below:
The Black Madonna is a three-foot bronze of the Virgin Mary with the Christ child, commissioned by Holy Cross Church in Austin, Texas.
Predominantly an African-American congregation, the people of Holy Cross wanted the sculpture to have African-American features.
The sculpture is located in the church's new grotto patio where parishioners mingle before and after services.
Thomas began the sculpture from a series of photographs of a woman and child selected by the Holy Cross Church as the models.
The original clay was completed and the church priest, Fr. Isadore Ndagizimana and a church committee approved it with some minor alterations.
Thomas, in addition to using live models, likes to have the commissioners approve the clay original before casting to make certain everyone is satisfied with the sculpture.
A multiple patina was placed on the sculpture using blacks for the hair, rust reds for the skin tones and bone white for the clothing.
While researching the history of Black Madonnas, Thomas was impressed to find that the history includes shrines throughout the Mediterranean and Europe, including a wooden icon of The Black Madonna, reputed to have been painted by St. Luke the Evangelist on a piece of cypress wood used by Mary in Nazareth.
This painting of The Virgin Mary, reputed to have belonged to The Holy Family during the time of Christ, is said to have been brought from Jerusalem around 1384 and installed in the 14th Century Jasna Gora Monastery, located in Czestochowa, Poland.
The Black Madonna is much more widely known in Europe and Asia than in the United States. Retired Bishop John McCarthy of the Austin, Texas Catholic Diocese and one of his benefactors asked if Thomas, himself a life-long Catholic, would consider sculpting a bronze Black Madonna for a newly renovated East Austin church.
Upon researching the subject, Thomas was surprised to find 26,000+ Internet sites on The Black Madonna.
In the images below, the two outer images are the sculpture in clay. The two in the center are bronze sculptures.
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Welcoming Christ was commissioned by Saint Mary Our Lady of the Lake Church at Lago Vista, Texas, to welcome parishioners to the church as they enter the parking area.
The church wanted a 1.5 scale bronze that would be big enough to be seen from the approach road. The figure stands on a steep bluff upon a four foot tall by
eight foot wide white limestone base which was carved with the church's sailboat logo surrounded by a garland of grape leaves.
The figure's arms are reaching out with palms open in a welcoming gesture as contrasted to the raised arms posture of the classical Risen Christ.
Gracing the entrance to the church and overlooking the vast Juniper and Live Oak forested valley of the Colorado River and the blue waters of Lake
Travis, the landscaped meditation grotto provides a peaceful place to watch the lake below.
This sculpture was first commissioned for the new Amarillo Cathedral which, at the time, was one of the first North American Catholic churches to be built following the Second Ecumenical Council guidelines calling for changes in the way the American Catholic churches were built and how they celebrated the Holy Mass.
The changes called for the Mass to be a dramatic depiction of the Last Supper in English instead of the traditional Latin.
For the first time, the altar was to face the parishioners and the church's artistic icons were to be more contemporary in treatment.
This was well received by the younger, more progressive Amarillo parishioners but perhaps not so well received by the older more conservative ones.
The artist's challenge was to depict The Virgin Mary with the Christ child by mixing the traditional and contemporary styles of realism and impressionism and still please both groups.
Thomas chose to show Christ teaching in the temple, as in the Book of Luke, Third Chapter, and Verse 41.
The sculpture has realism in the faces and expressive hands with impressionistic exaggeration of the flowing robes and proportions.
The merging of contemporary and traditional values for the new Amarillo Cathedral was expressed by depicting the outline of a Risen Christ within the body of the Crucifix, which was produced in hammered bronze.
Using Biblical themes depicting wheat, bread, grapes and fish the "Stations of the Cross" were sculpted in the combined realistic and contemporary styles.
This piece serves as a votive candle holder.
When St. Mary's Catholic Church in Lago Vista recently enlarged its building, some new art icons were used including this carved Austin Cream Cordoba Limestone Tabernacle pedestal.
Thomas Studio carved the pedestal with a grape leaf garland that is reminiscent of the carved limestone base of the Welcoming Christ bronze at the entrance to the church grounds. The tabernacle base also features the traditional biblical icons of the grapes, wheat, bread and fish.
Tabernacle -- St. Helen's Catholic Church, Pearland, Texas
The new St. Helens Tabernacle, shown in progress, by Thomas Studio. Fabricated from sheet silicon bronze, the tabernacle is designed by Davis-Rexrode Architects AIA and Ben Eastman, liturgical consultant, both of San Antonio. The tabernacle is designed with four half-round chambers, positioned between the false ceiling and false floor and with a semi-hemispherical Helens tabernacle pix st Helens crown. The false floor conceals the stainless steel stud which secures the tabernacle to its carved limestone pedestal, in accordance with modern liturgical art specifications. The false ceiling conceals a hidden chamber with a recessed entry door that allows the placement of St. Helens artifacts. The double doors feature concealed ball bearing hinges with tumbler door locks hand-made by the artist and concealed in the subtle ormolu on the face of the doors. The tumbler lock operates a pair of door pin stops which secure both doors in place.
The crown is topped with a hammered bronze cross (not shown) of the same design used in the embedded cross in the terrazzo floor of the adult baptismal pool. The tabernacle finished is hammered texture on all outside surfaces except the horizontal and vertical banding which is mirror polished. The entire tabernacle is clear-coated with ultra-violet resistant lacquer.
Altar Trim -- St. Helen's Catholic Church, Pearland, Texas
Thomas Studio also produced the hammered bronze trim to conceal the seams for the carved stone altar, the tabernacle pedestal and the baptismal fountain for St. Helen.
The tops of the altar, tabernacle pedestal and the baptismal fountain are of smooth Austin Cordoba Cream limestone and the lower portions are Austin Coquina fossil limestone, both Quarried near Florence, Texas, and carved by Texas Carved Stone of Florence. Thomas Studio frequently does stone carving or works closely with other stone shops.
Baptismal Fountain -- St. Helen's Catholic Church, Pearland, Texas
The St. Helens Baptismal Fountain was sculpted and cast in bronze by Thomas Studio at its Jonestown, Texas location. The fountain is designed by Davis-Rexrode Architects AIA and Ben Eastman, liturgical consultant, both of San Antonio. The bronze infant baptismal bowl is fed warmed and filtered water from a bubbler in its bottom with the water overflowing through the scalloped edges into a second terrazzo bowl below. The water then overflows again in a gentle waterfall to the adult terrazzo pool below. The bronze
bowl is textured with a hammered ball-peen finish, coated with clear ultra-violet lacquer. The bright finish will be stable for a year or two, finally slowly changing to an olive green patina, enhanced by the warm, chlorinated water.
Although placing a clear, hard finish on the tabernacle is the owner's choice, Thomas Studio usually recommends against it, especially for architectural artifacts which are placed in the weather or involve water, which by definition, receive constant use and are subject to abrasion and thus unwanted corrosion and patina discoloration. When the hard finish is disturbed, unwanted corrosion and discoloration of the raw bronze. The remedy is usually to disassemble the sculpture, strip the hard finish off and reapply. Damage to a hard finish is obviously expensive to repair so a better direction is to skip the hard, clear finish and apply a chemical patina and a wax sealer. Nicks and dings to a chemical patina are much easier to repair with a chemical touchup of the damaged areas and a reapplication of the wax sealer.
Ambo Candle Stands -- St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, Cedar Park, Texas
The St. Margaret Mary Candle Stands feature bronze legs with a hammered finish and holding removable and adjustable candle holders and their attached bobeches (wax drip catchers). The removable feature allows the candle staffs to be also used as processional candles. The altar, ambo and tabernacle pedestal are all hand carved from Austin Cream Cordoba limestone, quarried near Florence, Texas.
Paschal Candle Stand -- St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, Cedar Park, Texas
St. Margaret Mary commissioned Thomas Studio to produce a series of fabricated bronze candle staffs for use at Easter (Paschal) and at the altar, ambo and as processional candles. Designed by Davis+Rexrode Architects ATA and liturgical consultant Ben Eastman, both of San Antonio, the candle staffs feature a sweeping profile. They reach upwards from the floor in graceful curves, topped with inserted wood staffs and supporting the bobeches (wax catchers) and candle sockets. The wood and bronze upper staffs are designed to telescope to varying heights and to be detachable for use in Processional.
Paschal Candle Stand -- St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, Cedar Park, Texas
Two sizes of bronze holy water fonts were also produced for St. Margaret Mary. They were designed by Davis+Rexrode Architects AIA and liturgical consultant Ben Eastman, both of San Antonio.
The main chapel entry doors feature four larger founts with 10" x 15" oval water bowls supported and wall mounted with brackets reminiscent of the curving candle stands. Four small fonts are located at side doors serving a smaller chapel and the exterior entry / exit doors. The holy water bowls are cast bronze with a hammered texture. The wall mount brackets are wrought sheet bronze. All are patinaed with the same red-brown ferric nitrate and sealed with hot carnuble wax. The holy water bowls all have slumped glass inserts produced by Kathleen Ash at Studio K in Austin, Texas.
Tabernacle -- St. Vincent de Paul, Rogers, Arkansas
Coming soon:
candle stands at st helens in pearland, texas;
candle stands and santuary lamp at st vincent de paul in rogers, arkansas;
sanctuary railing and crosses at st marys cathdral in austin, texas
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Copyright © 2005-2007 Thomas Studio & Foundry Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
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Member: TSOS (Texas Society of Sculptors), AARC (Austin Architectural Artisans),
DFAC (Austin Diocese Fine Arts Council)
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