Wednesday, July 11, 2012

New Stencils



Of all the projects make up the Renovation of the Cathedral, the stencils behind the high altars are often the most praised. They incorporate ancient Christian symbols with timeless floral designs. The initials are Chi-Rho (Greek: Christus the name of our Lord), A.M. (Latin: Ave Maria or Hail Mary) and J (many languages: Joseph). These stencils unify the bright red, blue and purple walls.






Monsignor Gier was enthusiastic to bring back the stencil artist, Tim Linenberger. He will use a series of scaffolding to apply a frieze pattern - a four-color stencil in a vine pattern adapted from the base of our stained glass windows in the nave.

While he is here, he is applying a gold-leaf treatment to the large green rondells, the plaster disks which mask the air conditioner ducts. Tim is using a similar treatment to color the capitals of the columns.