Christina O'Connell works on her project right where “Blue Boy” has hung for nearly 100 years. Visitors can walk up and watch. Once in a while when she takes a break, she stops to explain to them what she’s doing.

All artworks need to be taken care of as years pass, even if no one damages them on purpose or by accident. Old things just get worn out. Some artworks have been around for hundreds or thousands of years. Some are worth tens of millions of dollars. So how do you take care of them? Very, very carefully!

Art conservators maintain paintings, fabrics, pottery, furniture, and other artworks. They have to study the materials in each artwork. Which layers are paint? Which are wax? Which are resin? They use X-rays and microscopes to find out exactly what to use when cleaning and restoring. When it comes to paintings, they may need oil paint, canvas, wax, and wood. Some conservators end up using plastic, blood, insects, or chocolate in their work! Sometimes they even make pretend artworks using the same materials the artist used. Then they can test cleaners and tools. Better to ruin a fake than the real thing!

Conserving and restoring artworks is a job that never stops. People in the past took care of artworks so we would be able to see them today. Now we do the same for people who will live in the future. God made a beautiful world. He made people with the ability to create beauty too. We preserve beautiful things people have made because they remind us of God’s beauty.

We are God’s works of art. Because of sin, we’ve become tarnished. But through Jesus, God restores us. He makes us the way He meant for us to be. He also preserves us. He will keep us safe until He comes back and makes the world new.