Friday, June 19, 2009

Southeast Whitesburg Mural--04 Waiting for Gesso to Dry

First task this morning was taping up the new drop cloth. I am pleased to say that I didn't get any gesso on the floor or parts of the wall where it doesn't belong. But I did end up with more gesso in my hair. The morning was devoted to finishing priming the wall with gesso. I felt like an old hand getting up and down from the scaffold. But, I forgot to put my new "Little Giant" two step footstool in the car this morning to bring with me, so I still had to borrow the maintenance department's eight footer--a bit of overkill. The final swipe of gesso went on the wall just before noon, so I was able to share lunch with our wonderful office and maintenance staff people.

You know the old saying about nothing being more boring than watching paint dry...so instead of watching, I went back to my office for some imaginative and conceptual work. Our librarian Evelyn Hensley provided me with more photographs, especially of the Physical Therapy Assistant students, which I promptly scanned into JPEG files. I'm trying to represent activities distinctive of all of our allied health programs (Physical Therapy Assistant, Radiography, Respiratory Therapy, and soon a nursing program). I also took a few new photos, including a great one of a student working at a computer that to fill a corner that was lacking.

Working with my master design, I added the new photos and shifted some of the elements about, until I have a plan that is good to go, although I'm certain there will be some tweaking down the road. Then I set up a grid that will make it easier for me to accurately place my elements where I want them on the wall, and help keep the various pieces in proportion. The graphic below shows the results of my afternoon's work, ready to serve as a guide as soon as the gesso is thoroughly dry.

2 comments:

Quiet Paths said...

Fascinating; what a neat project. You go lady!

Deborah Godin said...

So, give us the firsthand 4-1-1, it watching gesso dry as much fun as watching paint??? You must be eager to start!