2023 Catholic Schools Week
Shaped by his father’s faith and talent, artist carves out a blessed life
From a foundation of artistry and precision, Tim Weberding has crafted a career as a master woodcarver for 50 years. (Submitted photo)
By John Shaughnessy
Eighteen years after the death of his father, Tim Weberding still holds the lessons and legacy of William
J. Weberding at the center of his life.
Tim still remembers the lessons his father gave him that led him to become a master woodcarver, including the tough times when his dad gently told him that he needed to start a piece over again.
“My dad was an excellent teacher. He was my mentor,” Tim says. “He worked with me his entire life until he passed away. That was 2005.”
Tim also recalls how his father started the family business that has endured for more than 80 years in Batesville. The business began in 1942 in a “little, bitty workshop” with his dad taking orders for statues and religious carvings from priests in the area, and it’s grown into a company that has earned a glowing reputation for its works of art and its restoration efforts that have blessed many parishes across the archdiocese and even the country.
It’s all part of the legacy that his father and his mother Monica carved into reality for their five children—a legacy that not only shaped the lives of William G., Terry, Mary Anne, Shirley and Tim, but also the lives of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It’s a legacy of faith and Catholic education that has its roots in the church and the school of St. Louis Parish in Batesville.
Tim’s parents first met in St. Louis School, and it’s where they sent their children to receive their Catholic education. It’s also where their children sent their children. And the connection continues as five of Tim’s seven grandchildren now attend the school.
“My mom and dad were very religious,” Tim says. “We were brought up that way. It made us close. It all goes back to our mom and dad.
“The school is just a good school. Back when I went there, we went to Mass every day. And there were nuns. It’s personal there. The education is good. The religion is good, and they come out as good children.”
Tim also has a fondness for St. Louis School because his wife Marilyn also attended the school. She is also a graduate of Oldenburg Academy of the Immaculate Conception in Oldenburg. They will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in June.
“I still help with bingo once a month to support the school,” Tim says. “I love it. I get to see the older people.”
At 68, he also comes to the school occasionally to help teach the children about carving. Near Halloween in 2022, he led a fun project for the eighth-grade students who are preparing to receive the sacrament of confirmation.
“They worked to carve their chosen saint’s name into a pumpkin,” Tim says. “That was fun for them and fun for me.”
Joy, challenge, pride and attention to detail have marked Tim’s career as a master woodcarver, a profession and a passion of his for 50 years. As he nears retirement in February, he looks forward to the family business being continued by a nephew and the nephew’s son.
Tim also looks back on some of his favorite projects of the company through the years, including re-creating the beautifully ornate partition wall behind the altar of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Indianapolis after a fire gutted the church in 2001.
And his last major project before retirement has been creating a 10-foot-tall carving of the Holy Family that’s in honor of his late parents.
With each of the wood carvings he has made, Tim remembers the wisdom that his father gave him about inspiration—how God, and the world that God has created, can help an artist tap into inspiration and creativity.
“When you do carving, art work, painting or anything like that, you’re always going to have a dry spell,” Tim says. “When that happened, my dad always said, ‘Go outside, take a walk, clear your head, and it will come to you. You always get help along the way.’
“Some of the things your father tells you stick with you.” †
