Guest Author: Julie Richey, Mosaic Artist
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| Photo: Danny Fulgencio |
The Genesis Mosaic on the façade of the St. Jude Chapel on
Main Street in downtown Dallas was in need of repair to maintain its stability
and restore its beauty. MIT professor Gyorgy Kepes’ 1968 mosaic was suffering
from two major fractures, smaller cracks, and mildew under the surface. Julie
Richey and Cher Goodson put together a team to complete the arduous task. Six
weeks after beginning, the Chapel was ready to celebrate its 50th anniversary
in 2018.
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| St. Jude Chapel Photo: Julie Richey |
The Fracture
This is an example of the state of the mosaic when we
removed the silicone that was added years ago to stop the fallout of tiles.
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Fractured mosaic
Photo: Julie Richey
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Mapping the Tesserae
Clear mosaic tape was used to capture the andamento, or
pattern of the tile before chiseling to remove tiles surrounding the fracture.
Tiles were removed in six-inch sections.
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Tile mosaic pattern
Photo: Julie Richey
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The Fixers
The principal players involved in the restoration project: Cher
Goodson, owner of Art Restorations of Dallas; Plano mosaicist Lynne Chinn of
LCMosaics.com; Reverend Jonathan Austin, St. Jude Chapel chaplain; Julie Richey
of Julie Richey Mosaics, and Callie Heimburger, conservator at Art
Restorations.
The Historic Palette
We were so fortunate to have a long-time connection with
Miotto Mosaics of Carmel, NY. Stephen Miotto is the godson of the founder of
Venetian Art Mosaics Studios of the Bronx, NY, and when that business closed,
he took over the stock of Italian glass tiles. This allowed us to pull colors
from the same stock used to make the original mosaic. Venetian Art Mosaics
Studios was responsible for several wonderful architectural mosaics created for
Dallas institutions in the 1960s.
Removing the
Crumbling Substrate
Callie and Julie use small stone chisels to remove the cracked
and crumbling mortar.
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Removing crumbling mortar
Photo: Danny Fulgencio
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Surprise!
It was understood when we embarked on this preservation project
that there were possibly more areas damaged than appeared on the surface. We
were disappointed to find a horizontal fracture invisible from the street,
which traversed the two vertical fractures. This fracture was treated with the
same care as the verticals. Fortunately it wasn't too deep.
Color Palette
We removed loose and damaged tiles surrounding the two
vertical fractures. 140 distinct colors were counted in these two, thin cross
sections. This didn't begin to quantify the colors on the outer reaches of the mosaic:
malachite and lime greens, azures, violets, pinks, tangerines, and 24-karat
gold leaf tiles.
Eliminating Mildew
Mildew growing behind the tiles forced many of them to
delaminate. The fractures, most likely caused by the building's settling event,
then leaked water due to improper flashing on the roof. Now that the roof has
been repaired and the mosaic is not subjected to water damage from behind, the
fracture is dry. The mildew was neutralized with a bleach gel.
The Curve
An interesting detail of the mosaic was the curve on the southern
side of the façade. This area was almost completely covered in 24-karat gold
leaf Venetian glass—beautiful—but very thin tile. The mortar here was very
fragile. Attempts to prepare the surface for just a few tiles to be reseated
resulted in twice as many falling out. We waterproofed the area and made an
invisible repair.
Recreating the Sections
Once we carefully documented the areas to be removed,
cleaned the tiles, and received replacements from the stock at Miotto Mosaics
Studios in NY, we were ready to rebuild. Using both printed “before” photos of
the mosaic and our iPads and iPhones (for easy enlargement of the details), we
were able to identify original tiles and put them right back next to their
neighbors. A classic example of ancient craft and modern technology working
together.
Puzzle Time
Careful attention to color, shape, and pattern allowed our
three “puzzlers” to rebuild the missing sections. The lids served as “trays”
for each page of the rebuilt sections.
Beginning the Rebuild
Julie Richey begins at the bottom of the small fracture,
replacing tiles from the pattern.
Placing the
Anti-Fracture Membrane
We were fortunate to have a great local rep from LATICRETE
International, the company that provided our mortars, grouts, and anti-fracture
compounds. In this case, it was HYDRO BAN® waterproofing membrane / anti-fracture fabric
to the rescue. We coated the seams with HYDRO BAN® liquid applied waterproofing, then applied thinset and the custom-cut
membrane. This provided a stable base for the replacement mosaic, and we are
confident that the membrane will keep the old fractures at bay.
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Placing LATICRETE HYDRO BAN
Photo: Danny Fulgencio
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Re-Piecing Begins
It takes three to accomplish this task: Callie on the right
is working on the thinner fracture; the wider fracture requires a tracker
(Lynne on the left) and a fixer (Julie in the middle) to keep the tesserae and
patterns in line.
That Tile, That Spot
Highly detailed photos allowed the team to ensure the exact
tiles, based on their characteristics, were put back in place.
The Red Wash
Conservator Callie Heimburger created a special “wash” of
Indian red and burnt umber to unify the design by coloring joints and mortar to
match the intensity of the glass tesserae. This process was used in the
installation of the original mosaic in 1968. We know this because we found
traces of the pinkish-red stain under the loose tiles.
Almost Finished
Once the replacement of tiles along the fractures was complete,
it was time to spot-grout low areas, and clean and replace randomly missing
tiles across the façade.
About the Artist
Texas artist Julie Richey has been making mosaics for more
than 20 years, creating custom residential and commercial installations in the
US, Italy, Spain, and Mexico. Her mosaics and sculptures have been exhibited
across the US and in Italy at the biennial Ravenna Mosaico Festival and at the Orsoni
Smalti Veneziani Foundry in Venice as part of the Orsoni Grand Prize for Mosaic
in 2009.
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