Poor Clare's

Another Poor Clares Update- Mary Garden almost complete!
The Poor Clares Mary Garden project has seen a lot of progress from the Joes as of late. The trellis is almost complete, cement is almost complete, and the Mary statue has been cleaned and is ready to be put back in place. Check out some of the new pictures from the project! There will be another update when everything is complete.

BEFORE CLEANING

 


AFTER CLEANING

 

The sisters asked for help on a special project. Replicating their spoon that they use for all of their meals. Each sister is given a spoon and uses it for life. They each have a symbol carved in the spoon that represents that it belongs to that particular sister. Not an easy task!

2015 Lenten Project Progress Update

The Sisters at Poor Clares in Rockford have honored us with a request to help update their Mary Garden as one of our Lenten 2015 Projects. The Joes have been hard at work and are still moving toward completion of the project. Much of the indoor construction of the trellis has been completed and work will move outdoors soon.

Here is a previous post from some the planning stages and early on in the process of the project.  
2015 Lenten Project - Poor Clares Mary Garden

Check out some of our progress since the previous post:

The Joes also had the opportunity to help with some plumbing updates that were needed at Poor Clares. We changed out two toilets and flush values to a new heigh for the nuns. Several faucets and spout gaskets in their upper and lower cell area bathrooms. As always, The Joes had a lot of fun completing the work and spending time together!

Before











After

Lenten 2015: Mary Garden Planning and Starting the Project

We have started by cutting wood to size and assembling some of the trellis and can't wait to continue this project outdoors! Here are some process photos.




Concept Drawing based on the Sister's request




1" Scale Model

Sister Christina teaching Mike Arduino how to use power tools

Work continues cutting and staining

Trellis arch construction

Mike & Mike the staining crew

Assembly continues

Sister Christina, Kyle, and Tom are happy with the progress

Summer 2012 / Summer 2013 : 140 Man/Hours

Removed and replaced life-size crucifix in cemetary

Re-landscaped cemetary and stalled stone retaining walls

Removed and replaced 45 'Cloister' evergreen trees for enclosure

Removed debris from the site

Refurbished shop tools and equipment