Okay, I just had to use "appalling" since it rhymed so well with "spalling" and describes well the after effects of spalling. Haha!
And yes, spalling is fixable. Take a look at my little Sherif now.
Doesn't he look wonderful? Thanks to Sue Kern for repairing that appalling spalling. (LOL)
I discovered Sue of Sakori's Customs after using several other other repair artists with mixed results. Sue was recommended to me, I gave her a try, and now she is the first person I call when I break a china. (That white spot at the base of Sherif's tail is glare from the light.)
Sherif's repaired tail from the top. (Photo by Sue Kern.)
I am so glad to have this piece back. Not only is he a beautiful example of Hagen Renaker's finest work, he is also a sentimental favorite. Teacher Daughter Lisa asked years ago to have her name put on his tag so that he would come live with her when the time comes.
Sue also repaired another sentimental favorite who'd tagged along with Sherif. When Craig and I got married, my mother started a tradition of annually painting a few Nativity pieces and giving them to us for Christmas. They're all signed and dated on the bottom and have been gracing my player piano for close to 50 years.
The completed Nativity is a family treasure.
The story behind this Nativity? In the 1970s ceramics were a hot hobby and my mother owned a ceramic shop where she taught people to clean greenware, paint it, and then fired it for them. (We had a kiln in our basement.) This Nativity set was something she sold in her shop as greenware.
Occasionally I run across another completed Nativity set like mine as I visit antique and thrift shops. I've found several finished sets but have left all of them behind - except for the set that this broken camel came from.
While not as nice as the set done by my mother, it was still quite well done. I bought it and gifted it to Hawkeye Sarah who was thrilled to have it as a remembrance of her Granny Slash.
Unfortunately the head recently broke off one of the camels. It wasn't spalling; it broke when it was bumped.
Reassuring Sarah that it could be fixed, I sent photos of the piece to Sue Kern along with Sherif's pictures and asked her about fixing the camel, too.
And soon that camel was standing tall and proud again, head carefully and firmly reattached. (All restored camel photos are by Sue Kern.)
Looks great, doesn't it?
Teacher Daughter Lisa went over to Iowa to visit her sister in early July and hand delivered the repaired camel. Sarah is glad to have the piece repaired and is looking forward to having a complete Nativity out on her table again this Christmas.
I know how she feels - I feel the same way about my repaired Sherif.
