Portraying St Mary MacKillop as kind, compassionate and hard-working was the objective of Adelaide sculptor Judith Rolevink in her latest work of art, reports The Southern Cross.
Commissioned by two interstate Catholic schools and a parish in Canberra to create a new statue of Australia’s first saint, Judith spent the last four months of 2011 modelling the bust of Mary in her early forties.
The bust has been produced in bronze for the parish of Curtin in the ACT, and for a more affordable option she chose a cold cast bronze resin for St Joseph’s Primary School at Mt Isa in Queensland and Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Primary School at Sunshine in Victoria.
Judith said she wanted the sculpture to appeal to young people and was conscious of the need for Mary to look “kind and compassionate but hard-working”.
“I feel like I know her face better now and am able to express it a little better,” Judith said. “I’m pleased with the way it’s turned out.”
The bust is 83cm tall by 60cm wide and 52cm deep, making it perfect for sitting on a plinth in a garden setting or on a table.
Since the unveiling of her sculpture of Mary with two children in the Mary MacKillop Plaza in Adelaide in 2009, Judith has completed a miniature bronze replica statue of the trio, a full-size statue of Mary outside the Mary MacKillop Chapel in Mount Street, North Sydney, and now the bust of Mary with her sleeves rolled up.
FULL STORY Reflecting Mary's spirit (The Southern Cross)