Welcome to our website about church renovation, religious statue restoration and statue repair. Our body of work includes projects for Catholic and Byzantine denominations, as well as many secular examples. Our business formula is simple: combine exemplary talent, the finest materials, over 35 years’ experience specifically in ecclesiastical artwork restoration, repair and creation - with the lowest prices in the industry.
Many statues have adorned churches for generations, so they are not lightly replaced. Despite our best efforts, statues, Stations of the Cross, Nativity Scenes, Altars and other accouterments of faith fall victim to the passage of time. Sunlight, candle smoke, casual handling or even the well-intentioned statue restoration and repair by unskilled parishioners - all leave their mark. However, there are artisans among us who possess the training, experience and aesthetic perception to restore our cherished symbols of faith to their original beauty, and perhaps to a state beyond what they ever were.
Mary Elizabeth Birkos is such an artist. Her focus today is on statue restoration and repair, done in her studio. The statues are plaster, marble, concrete or wood. Broken or missing parts are repaired or fabricated. Surfaces are cleaned, restored and primed. The final finish is a proprietary blend of artist oils in Renaissance and traditional colors. She captures the nuance of light and shadow with layers of transparent glaze which create subtle and profound variations in color and shading. The result is a stunning and riveting realism seldom seen in the New World.
Mary has also served as the general contractor on 16 church renovations. As you review the enclosed photographs, please note that all renovations are primarily accomplished with paint only. For each project, she developed the overall concept and color selections, furniture design, wall refinishing, and statue restoration and repair presentations. Highly skilled carpenters complete all the building modifications and furniture fabrication. Experienced painters prepare the walls and apply field colors. Just about everything else is on Mary. She is an expert in the wall application of Venetian plaster, faux stone, marble and various metallic finishes. She personally effects all ecclesiastical artwork creation as well as all statue restoration and repairs. It is astounding what a little paint can do in the hands of a master craftsman. Regretfully, church renovations are now limited to Western Pennsylvania.
We have links to recent articles about Mary's work. Hard copies of older articles, not yet in online archives, are also available. There are before-and-after, finished works and renovation photographs - any one of which is worth a thousand of my words.
Please send your project photos and expectations, or requests for supplemental information to mebirkos@gmail.com.
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