Fr. Ray Clark holds a sculpture of Mary holding Jesus that is carved from olive wood from the Holy Land. COURTESY OF GREG EANS, MESSENGER-INQUIRER
Fr. Ray Clark receives Good Friday-inspired sculpture
BY SCOTT HAGERMAN, MESSENGER-INQUIRER
If you walk into the Carmel Home during the next few weeks, you’ll be greeted by an exquisite pieta sculpture of Mary holding Jesus in the moments after he was removed from the cross following his crucifixion.
The sculpture is the work of Jack Issa Giacaman’s business “My Christmas House,” which is based in Bethlehem, and was purchased by the Rev. Ray Clark, who became friends with Giacaman while on sabbatical in Jerusalem.
Clark, who received the sculpture two weeks ago, was inspired to purchase the work after seeing a much smaller piece in Carmel Home resident Betty Cecil’s room.
The sculpture is notable for several reasons, not the least of which is it’s made from olive wood and features incredible detail, which Giacaman said has been a family tradition for generations.
“We are the fourth and fifth generations carving olive wood, and before that my family used to carve seashells,” Giacaman said. “In the last 200 to 300 years, they’ve carved olive wood. Olive is a tree growing all over the country, around Bethlehem and Jerusalem, and the tree lives for hundreds to thousands of years.
“In the season of picking olives, the people prune the trees, and the farmers come to sell us the wood. We dry it, and we make carvings out of it.”
The olive wood must be dried for considerable time before the carving begins. For Clark’s piece, which is about one-and-a-half feet tall and very heavy, the wood had to dry for two to three years.
The process of creating the sculpture from a single block of wood takes two to three weeks, with several people involved.
“One person cuts wood, one person roughs it out, one person to work with chisels, one with the trimmers tool, one sands, so maybe it passes through six or seven workers to be completed,” Giacaman said. “I’m one of the carvers. I usually do the design, and I make the faces and the small details myself — so I do the first roughing and the finishing.”
Giacaman said it’s artistic gifts are inherited and a God-given skill.
“I learned it literally from the family,” he said. “This is something you discover in yourself. I studied accounting and engineering, and I left that business so I can keep running the family business. I discovered I have the artistry in myself. The first piece I did, my father and uncle said, ‘Oh, you are doing good job, and you have to come do this business.’ Then I start, and I find myself 30 years now doing this work.”
Giacaman said he can express himself through the works.
“You feel like you are giving your feelings in this piece of wood,” he said. “You see the works of Jesus in wood carving, expressing my faith. It is very important for me as a Christian living in Bethlehem. I always try to teach others the Bible through carvings.”
Clark’s piece is somewhat unusual because it’s hard to find a block of olive wood that size, and it’s never less than 500 to 600 years old.
“It’s expensive and hard to find,” said Giacaman, whose pieces generally range from $1,200 to $2,000.
Clark’s sculpture cost $1,300.
“I was trying to help him out and also get some amazing pieces,” said Clark, who continues to be amazed by the piece. “A friend of mine who is very appreciative of art said the difference in texture, it’s sort of like that’s the blood of Jesus, which I hadn’t seen. Other people’s appreciation of it that has deepened my appreciation of it. The use of the wood grain is amazing.
“I just appreciate it more and more the more I see it. The artistry of blending everything is amazing.”
Giacaman’s business has been severely impacted wars in the Middle East, with Bethlehem, which is dependent on tourism dollars, all but locked down. He has had to shutter his two stores, with only the factory still operating.
“Unfortunately, it’s very bad,” he said. “Even one of my brothers had to move and work in Dubai … and now I am working the business alone. Two shops closed because no one is around.”
Anyone interested in learning more about Giacaman’s work or ordering a piece can go to www.mychristmashouse.com or contact him at [email protected]. Custom work is available.
Originally published on April 2, 2026 by the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer. This story has been reprinted with permission.
