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 ceiling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ceiling. Show all posts

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! 

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! 

Monday, February 24, 2014

Big Jobs in Small Places

It's time to address the ceiling of the Church. Like any self-respecting church, it has a high ceiling made of wood and hard to reach. It's old, stained, and has been the home of many a spider and fly over the years.

Dirty Ceiling!

 So our  initial job is to prime it with Kilz. As its name implies, Kilz will kill the stains, cover old odors and even roll over any spider nests still hanging around.

Kilz 2! Is that like Terminator 2?
So let's get to it. It's cold outside in February, but the Geothermal heating system keeps us toasty inside.
The problem is the space. It's kind of cramped up in the "attic."

So far, so good...
It was bound to happen. 

What's bound to happen? It's just a second coat, even thought the first coat isn't quite dry...

You're bound to raise your head....

Oh...I get it. 
Premature white hair. Oh well, as long as I'm not alone! 

Should I tell him? Naw...
We did manage to get some paint on the ceiling, and we were pleased with the results. 

Kilz'd!
Mike went to work on the wall around the quatrefoil window. Big improvement! 

Kilzzin' it!
OK, enough wordplay with Kilz! Time to call it quits.

Hmm. It's better, but you can still see the cracks.
The light was starting to dwindle, though the daylight lingered more than it did a month ago. Spring is coming. For me, spring means a lot of busy weekends either at church or school in SE Michigan, so it may be a while before I get back to this project. 

Sunset!
But it's never far from my heart! 

Thank you, God!