Pitfalls
There are several pitfalls in decorating a Martin Luther statue that must be avoided. Some of these are common sense, and some are learned from experience. Some of these are presented as warning, and some just as a heads up as to what will not work out.
Magnets: Marty is not magnetic. You cannot use a magnet to hold anything on him. It is unfortunate but true.
Sewing: Any sewing that is going to be done, needs to be done before an item is placed on the statue, unless it is some sort of decorative sewing that will not take long to accomplish… like lacing up something. One project I directed involved sewing a long tube of material, sewing it closed at one end, stuffing it full of plastic grocery bags, wrapping it around Marty and sewing the ends together by hand (because of the size of the object and it’s intended location on the statue it was not possible to simply lower it over his head). Everything went according to plan until it came time to sew the bag together on the statue. This was a seam that was maybe 16 inches long, and it took my accomplice and I about 2 hours to accomplish. If we had been thinking we would have had our seamstress install a zipper or a set of buttons or something. Take my word for it - do not plan on sewing anything in place on the statue.
Inappropriate materials: This has been mentioned in other locations on this site - but you should not use things like tape or glue to hold anything on the statue. You should not use anything that will leave a mark on the statue. Under no circumstances should you leave a mark on the statue. Paint that might be water-soluble and might run off of a decoration and onto the statue should not be used. It might be fun to paint a bald spot on the top of Marty’s head in honor of a bald professor, but it is a Bad Idea, and one that will earn you heaps and heaps of scorn, to say nothing of Hebrew to translate - and appropriable so.
Does anyone else have anything they would like to add? Let me know about your pain, and I will gladly post it here for the world to see, and hopefully learn from. I’m all about hearing other people’s tails of woe.
Schadenfreude.