Adventures in ArtWorks, part 2

We've got the first week of work under our belts, and it has been BUSY!  As the Taft Museum is our partner for this mural, the design is based on some of the more iconic paintings in the permanent collection.  So the crew spent some time in the breathtaking museum, sketching from the landscape, the architecture, the draperies, and of course, the art.  Not only did they flex their creative muscles in their sketchpads, but also in a polished and professional presentation to all the donors, sponsors and partners in the project.  They really knocked 'em dead - I felt like such a proud mama bear!

Come Friday, it was finally time to face the wall and tackle the first step in prep: wire-brushing the bejeezus out of the surface.  This takes off any crumbly bits that might encourage the paint to peel later on, as well as a few layers of skin off of our knuckles (see above) in the first of what I suspect will be several small sacrifices to the art gods.  Though as long as we stay hydrated, alert, and sun-screened (no one gets melanoma on my watch!), I think we'll manage just fine. 

Six more weeks to go!  It's hard to imagine that this massive expanse of ordinary wall is going to turn into a one-of-a-kind work of art, especially in such a seemingly short time frame.  Today we got through just a mere fraction of the gesso process, and we're hoping to have the thing gridded and drawn by the end of the week.  Phew!

And as a side note - today I signed my contract with Kenton County Schools and am officially the newest art teacher at Scott High School!  Hooray for art!