What is the White Church Gallery?

Mike and Carrie Zaitz are renovating an old Methodist Church in Grindstone City, Michigan. Mike claims he just wanted a place to work on his art. He sold Carrie on it, since she's usually up for adventures. From that happy December of 2011 till now, the investment in time and money has seen the church rebuilt from its glorious bones into a work of art, in progress. Carrie is documenting the process because, well, it's easier to hold a camera than to hold an edging sander. She's done both, because she is having an adventure, but it is Mike who drives this project with his intelligence, talent and energy. Together they are working toward creating an art gallery. A gallery which holds objects of beauty and inspiration, but which always points back to the source, our heavenly Father.
Showing posts with label Grindstone Mike. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grindstone Mike. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Follow the Lights!

Every May, my birthday rolls around. And every May, my beloved husband finds something sweet and amazing to surprise me with.
It wasn't these...
These beauties were the by-product of his search for the perfect gift from Craigslist! He did find an amazing little piece of furniture for me but it's for home, not the church, though it does have quatrefoils on it. 

We had been looking for light sconces for some time, and our search had schooled us in the prices and quality we were likely to find. 
These had been polished.
We knew they were neither cheap, nor easy to find in quantity. So it was with utter amazement that he found this set of five doubles and two singles. All for one low price. 
Score!
Yes, they will need some love, both aesthetically and electrically. Someone had wire-wheeled some of the metal. I used Brasso and elbow grease on the one on the left, and it has a very different tone than the polished one on the right. But I will figure out how to make them match, never fear! They will be a beautiful addition of light to the Church!

Meanwhile, the protective plywood came off the front windows, and the front of the Church saw first light, again.
All closed up.

One eye open...


And the other...
Who's that in the window?
Why, it's Grindstone Mike, putting the final touches on the paint. 
Soon it will be time for dinner. How's it going, Dr. Fisher, of the Institute of Barbeque Grills?
Oh it'll just take 15 more minutes...
Right! Well, we'll check back in 20... 
Painting.
The windows look just great!
Just a few more to go...;)
They sure do let the light in!

Meanwhile...
Assistance from a guest!
And so it took a few hours, but the lads were able to find all the right places for all the right parts, and we did dine on burgers and dogs. Our first grilling in Grindstone Corners!
Yay-Be-Que!
Let's light it!




Friday, April 4, 2014

Close

So...we left the story before the LAST PAGE was read!! So close, but just not done yet! Read on, to the conclusion of this epistle!

Alright let's open that book up...
Aside: a care package came in the mail. It was labelled "cure for the midwinter jickers," which technically became the spring jickers, as tenacious as the jicker was.

New gloves!! In a size medium!!

Fits like a glove!
Why oh why didn't I stop there?

Glove love!
I'm glovin' it.
Stop! In the Name of Glove...
I just glove your goatee!
What's Glove got to do with it?
Thanks Dad! I glove them!!

So, are we ready for a series of deadly pictures of the last paragraph of the last page of the book of Priming the Ceiling?

First I whipped up a little something...
It's like mixing a cake! 
I needed to make the Kilz smooth sailing for Grindstone Mike.
Go, Mike, Go!


Using an extra nappy roller.

The roller holds so much paint, it's quite heavy.

Too heavy for a girl!


It's definitely a man's job!


Take a Break, old man!!
Hydrating!

Ok, back to work!

Attacking from the other side.

Adjustments must be made. 
OK, focus. The end is near!
You can do it!

"Oops missed a spot...mmmph..."
Nice muscles!

And the exciting conclusion...

The end! for now...

Mike sometimes refers to me as his "lovely assistant" in conversation. So how did I assist? Today, it was simply by cheerleading! From a seated position.
It's Glovely! 
Cheers! Job well done!

I'm a wine glover!
Primed and ready to go!
A glovely conclusion to a glovely day! 

Friday, March 28, 2014

Life is Good!

And that covers it all! 
It's the weekend and I'm at the church! Can you interpret my mood? I'm ready to roll!

The last time we closed the story book, we had a few pages left to go in the chapter on the ceiling.
I see a vase...or the profile of a lady! 
That's silly. It's just a good afternoon's worth of work! So we drove up to Grindstone to get busy!

It's now the end of March. Spring has officially started, and Earth's Northern Hemisphere (us!) is now in position to lean toward the Sun.

According to my astronomy book, that should mean nicer weather, but here's what we drove up to this particular young spring weekend...

Are my eyes out of focus or am I snow blind?
And this!
Looks like a date with Messieur Chauvelin! (That's French for Mr. Shoveling...)
 There is really nothing to make you feel better when you get loads of snow in late March. Especially after the brutal winter we've experienced. So I put on my "Life is Good" shirt and Mike and I hit the primer!

Sometimes it's hard to get started...
Contemplatin'
C'mon Grindstone Mike! It's just a short climb onto the scaffolding...

Not so bad when you keep it in perspective!
We'll be done before you know it!

So long, ugly beige!
I know this looks like a state, but I can't remember which one...

How about the state of being unfinished...?
Ooh, we can almost taste it!

Maybe we should keep our mouths closed when we paint?
We're on the homestretch, almost there, but we called the game. We had guests, and we were pooped!

Friends Kevin and Vickie, up for a visit. 

We're hoping that they stick around more permanently! They're contemplating!

Life is Good! 
We love our little corner of the Thumb of Michigan, and the more good people that find this place, the nicer it is for us all! Come on up, y'all! Get some Thumb under your...err... thumb! Or under your skin! 

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Men at Work!

February has fled, leaving nothing but cold and snow in its wake. March is here, bringing cold air and snow. What the what? But that doesn't slow down progress at the White Church Gallery.
That's why God made boots! 
As predicted, weekend events back home prevented my journey to the Church, but apparently my awesome husband anointed himself court photographer in my absence. He usually shuns the camera, but either he doesn't think I believe he really works when he's there alone, or he secretly enjoys taking pictures of progress! I think it's a little of both...
I do believe he works, because he is very passionate about whatever he does. And he's a very hard worker. Plus...I knew he wouldn't be alone. Thanks to "Captain" Ron Picard, the mammoth job of painting the ceiling was nearly accomplished! So let's see what the boys were up to! 

Ron Picard rolling the ceiling with Kilz!
Ahem, court photographer, is this the first one you took? Looks like you're halfway through! Ha Ha- it's looking good! 

We thought about spraying the paint on, but the first coat needs the attention hand rolling could only give. Hence the circus act these two performed on a system of scaffolding and ladders. Go boys, go! 

Check out the scaffolding-ladder system!

Is he really on his tippy toes? 
Yep, he is! He's a pro! And so it went. 

And just to prove he was rolling too, look what I found on the camera!
I recognize those paint splatters on your glasses! My hero!
And so, here are the results of their hard work. 

View to the front door
Wow. What a difference. Now the cracks look fine. When we had finished the ceiling over the "attic" I thought the cracks made it look dirty, but now it looks great! 

Nice!
Cool- the white ceiling really picks up colors! We were pondering what color we'd paint the ceiling, but we're in love with the lightness of the ceiling, so we'll go with something a shade or two creamier and less blinding softer than stark white. 

Quittin' time!
Looks like there's just a little bit left to prime. Then we can spray the color coat on. 

The next morning, Grindstone Mike went back for some daylight pix- I love it! Nice job, Reluctant Court Photographer!

Early morning light

Yay Kilz!
Oh ho- Mr. Reluctant Photographer shows his true artist colors. Look what else I found on the camera!

Port Austin, looking at the breakwall.

Port Austin, with the Lighthouse in the distance

Port Austin Lighthouse, from Bird Creek Park
Nice work, Mike. I guess someone just earned himself a new job! (As if he didn't have enough to do!)
Hopefully I can help out in the next few weeks, if I can break away from other commitments. Meanwhile, thanks Captain Ron for all your hard work, and thanks, Grindstone Mike, for being you!