GCTS is where I am currently working on my Masters Degree. If all goes as planned I will complete my work by December and graduate in the Spring of 2009.
The Charlotte Campus is where I have done all of my Course work. I have made a lot of great friends and I have learned so much that I had never imagined.
It is a beautiful campus and I always feel at home when I go there. One of my favorite places on campus is the Chapel with the Fresco, “The Parable of the Sower”. I have included photographs for you to peruse.
Ronnie
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A freestanding wall was erected for the fresco, in the event that the foundation of the new building shifts, the fresco-standing on its own foundation–will not be harmed. Painting on a freestanding wall also protects the fresco from long-term stress that may appear after years of being dormant, as is the case with many of the older frescos all over the world. |
| Many drawings as well as studies in oil were made in preparation for the actual painting of the fresco, including pencil sketches, wash drawings, charcoal drawings, conte drawings and oil paintings. Characters such as the young girl with wheat begin with such early studies. A cartoon is then made of the same image. A cartoon is a drawing on heavy paper that has been scaled up from the smaller study drawing to the full size of the fresco. The cartoon of the Sower stands nearly nine feet tall. |  |
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Painting of the fresco begins when hand ground pigment mixed with water is applied to a section of damp, fresh plaster called the giornata – a small area that must be painted and completed in one day. Due to the chemical reaction of lime, pigment and water, as well as the rapid drying time, small sections must be completed within a few hours with the artist working quickly and deliberately. |
| The section may be as small as six inches by six inches, depending upon the amount of detail in that portion of the painting. As the lime dries, calcium carbonate crystals form on the surface making the painting a permanent part of the plaster. Unlike oil painting where pigment can be removed, each brushstroke in fresco is immediately permanent. At the end of the day, the artist must decide whether to keep the day’s work or scrape it off.Approximately three months of painting were required to complete the fresco. |  |