By Marie Mulvenna

Parishioners at St. Joseph’s Church in Dalton recently gathered for a champagne reception honoring their fellow parishioner, Wayne Braud. The reception was the parish’s response to Braud’s skilled handiwork and the resulting new altar, credence table, chair and three stools that are now proudly found in the sanctuary of the Dalton parish.

The new additions at St. Joseph’s are the beautiful products of a skilled wood carver, who, by profession, is a chemical engineer and vice president of Colox in Dalton. By avocation, Braud is a master artist and his woodcarvings are numerous and prize winning.

His notable ability and professional examples of his work had their humble beginnings a mere six or seven years ago when Braud began a hobby of “whittling.” The initial simple pocketknife has since given way to more sophisticated tools of the craft, although Braud admits he still holds a particular fondness for the old pocketknife. The newer equipment was an acquisition made by Braud’s wife Jo, who noted her husband’s interest in his hobby. Braud admits that newer tools do come in handy for certain difficult jobs.

Braud’s first hobby effort is perhaps one of his favorite pieces –a small woodcarving of an African woman carrying a water jar atop her head. It was whittled from poplar wood and he and his wife Jo have never parted with it, nor with many of the other fruits of his efforts. Although some pieces of Braud’s work have been given as gifts to relatives and friends, the Braud home is adorned with scores of his wood pieces, which, for the most part, are predominantly African in motif.

Another early product of Braud’s pocketknife is an African woman with a lute that is carved from hickory wood. The wood that is eventually transformed into works of art through Braud’s skill comes from a wide variety of sources, including tree stumps, odd shaped roots, deformed stumps the excavations of road work.

Presently, a huge white oak stump that had been unearthed during highway construction sits in the basement, gradually being transformed into an elephant. Another white oak stump from the Braud’s native area of South Louisiana, became an elaborate elephant after almost two years of work by Braud.

The Braud collection continues to grow at the family home and Braud does enter area arts and crafts festivals but admits he hates to part with the pieces, which is usually expected of entrants.

The altar for St. Joseph’s was quite a challenge for the master “whittler” and began last December. Father Douglas Edwards, pastor of St. Joseph’s, jokingly commented at the time that he hoped it would be finished by Christmas.

By Easter, the new altar, as well as accompanying pieces, were finished and they are a monumental tribute to Braud’s artistic abilities. The altar is made from Chatsworth pine, weighs over 600 pounds and does not have as much as a single nail in its construction. The massive altar is held together with a special glue and has a distressed finish to it. The liturgical symbols on the altar and the credence table are done in relief or cameo style using lighter wood and parishioners at the Church describe it as “exquisitely beautiful.”

The new altar replaces an old improvised altar set that had been used in the parish sanctuary for many years. The old altar had been outdated since Vatican II when liturgical reforms stipulated that the celebrant face the parish community for the celebration of Mass.

The presentation of the six piece ensemble for St. Joseph was a highlight of Braud’s artistic endeavors and parishioners enthusiastically hailed his work with the reception and the presentation of a special plaque expressing their appreciation.