Artist uses talent in a variety of ways
At first glance, dentures and statues wouldn't seem to have much in common. However, one local artist has found the two are more similar than expected.
Tom Panei, a local Butler artist and custom denture fabricator, was recently commissioned to restore statues for St. Gertrude Parish in Vandergrift. According to him, experience in these lines of work helped in his endeavor to recondition the statues.
“Working with dentures, (this) comes natural,” Panei said. “Dentures and statues are alike: They're both complicated and technical.”
Panei has been a denture fabricator for more than 20 years, and shared that he fell into restoration by stopping into a religious store, where the owner asked him to do small repairs. Word of mouth and Facebook took it from there.
Panei said most of the statues he works with are more than 100 years old and about four-feet tall. Some arrive needing extensive repair, such as a base or limb reconstruction. Panei will repair breaks by attaching a wire to the statue, then molding clay around it. Next, he'll sand, prime and paint the piece to make it look brand new.
“I use a mix of denture tools and materials for carving and sculpting the statues,” Panei said. “I use oil paint as well, which is hard to work with since it takes so long to dry. I'm learning as I go.”
Panei said that depending on the damage, a statue could take a few weeks to be fixed. Part of that process is researching the religious figure the statue represents and the symbolism attached to them.
“I'm finding out about these people, and I have to watch what I do,” Panei said. “There's lots of symbolism with the Gospel writers I had to get right.”
The St. Gertrude Parish officials also asked Panei to add artwork as part of a church restoration. Panei was permitted to use his abstract style of chalk on wood canvas to depict Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
“It was out of my comfort zone,” Panei said. “I did a lot of research to please them, and was happy to do it in my style.”
Panei is unsure how many statues he will end up restoring, but he said he's enjoyed working on them as well as his own commissions.
“I like the diversity of it, working on 10 things at once,” Panei said. “When I'm (frustrated), I can pick on a guitar, or jump onto a painting. I like going back and forth between projects.”
According to him, juggling denture work, painting and statue restoration requires a lot of discipline.
“When you love what you do, it's not so bad,” Panei said. “It's a blessing to be busy doing what you love ... Find a passion no matter what it is and share it with the world.”
