So this is one of the pieces I have been working on. I'm not sure the exact name for it because there is a bit of a language gap here, but it is sort of a stretcher that would have been used to carry deceased children from the church to the burial, during a funeral. It consists of two frames with a painting on either side, connected by to bars with roping between the two of them. This pice was created in the 16th century in Florence. At some point someone covered it in a gold paint to cover the chipped areas of gold leaf, in doing so they covered the original gold leaf. The piece is very dirty and my first job is to clean off the dirt, the finish and the paint. Check it out!

wow..very cool ...how is it joined together? are the panels floating in a rail system.....good job!!looks like allot of fun.....

That's pretty cool........so how do you clean something like that with so much history?? Where has it been stored all these years??? Give us the low down on your gig.

Hey Rachel.....good thing you don't have the Big Guy with you, he'd be pick'in it and pok'in it, he's 6000 mile away and already he's wondering how to take it apart.

Arrividurchi.....Neil

PS.......please come back soon, last podcast Plain White T-mac, was singing Delilah........if he starts humming Barry Manilow, I'm outa here.

That's pretty wild!

Are you working on this stuff at a museum or another college or university?

I have to say, with Tommy taking on that bombe... and you doing crazy restorations like that... you guys make quite a talented pair!

So I am not entirely sure about all the joinery, I've only spent about an hour with it, but the posts pretty much fit through a two cut outs in each frame and took us about a 1/2 hr. to get them out, but the paintings i believe are frescoed into the middle of the frame, one of the frames is broken and the painting seems o be part of the frame so i am thinking that each frame was carved out of one piece. As for the cleaning, we are using a substance that i would compare to floor stripper and steal wool and cotton. You really don't want to get this stuff on... i figure that out right away, it will pretty much burn a hole in your skin.

So this is all part of a program through Lorenzo de Medici in Florence. Because it is an academic program, churches without the funding for large restorations ask us to restore there piece. I am also working on a huge oil painting that needs to be done by Easter. pretty cool.

Also, I would love to have my Big Buddy with me, he would have been disassembled that thing in like 2 minutes.

ciao! Rachel

hey Rachel.....I'm really digg'in this. That's the way to go to school, you must be juiced.

Have a question....and I know nothing of what you are doing. In repairing these, are you stripping completely or just areas that you then repair by matching the existing "fresco" as you termed. Fascinating!!! What exactly is the procedure??

OH......we have different visions of the Big Guy in Flourence....you see it as the 2 of you just back from a weekend villa in Tuscany, hangin out in a Bistro with a glass of red wine and I'm envisioning T-mac running down the streets of Flourence with the "Policia" in chase...why?.......because he crossed the velvet rope and was fiddling with a Michelangelo and Italy wants answers. :)

I'm very interested...Keep us posted on your work.

Sorry it's taking so long to reply... but i was in rome the last few days. To answer your questions, I don't know why I used the term fresco, that is entirely incorrect and I had just left my fresco class... anyway it is a painting on a panel and i am not yet sure how we will restore the painting but the entirety of the wooden frames was covered in some sort of paint that is not original to the piece and that is what we are now removing.

and you are wrong about both images of tommy... mine is much different then you might expect and he is very respectful in museums and he might want to cross the ropes but he would not without an invitation.