Thanks for your advice I will do as you say, I was thinking of keeping the finished work in the tray, if it turned out good enough,but after reading Gary's postings I don't think it would be a good idea. Would I be right in thinking that the water would not be sucked through the plaster.

I got confused with the sand, the silver silica sand made me think it was a different product altogether, how long would it take for the silica to fall off? I ask because someone else used this in a fresco and that was the basis it was recommended to me.

One more question can fresco be carried out on plaster board,if thats the right name for it?

Thanks for your help

Ed

I do not know how fast it will happen. It depends on many things for one - how much of the mica is in it?
Also silica sand might have been quarried by the sea, therefore contain salts and salts are the biggest enemy of fresco. (I am not sure about the last one, but the first one is good enough for me)

Getting revere sand should not be a problem - you do not have to go to the river bank and dig it out. Masonry supply store will tell you where the sand came from, you can use "play sand" it should be river sand and also it comes pre-washed.

>One more question can fresco be
>carried out on plaster board,if
>thats the right name for
>it?

Do you mean "drywall" and what do you want to use it for? As a backing for the fresco plaster coats? I think Gary's system is simple and right and for the small (1-2 sq. feet) panel it is pointless to use any other method. Gary is an expert in "stucco duro" and other plasters.
Just use very little of white cement, and I would not put it into intonaco.

Ilia
http://www.truefresco.com/workshop

I was curious about the dry wall (plaster board), as most houses (where I live) have stud walls and I was interested to know if fresco can be done on them, considering the books I have read advocate liberal amounts of water, I have a vision of the dry wall falling apart lol.

I do not intend to do any thing over 2' sq as you advised.

ed

>I was curious about the dry
>wall (plaster board), as most
>houses (where I live) have
>stud walls and I was
>interested to know if fresco
>can be done on them,
>considering the books I have
>read advocate liberal amounts of
>water, I have a vision
>of the dry wall falling
>apart lol.

In this case dry wall is OK - there is not that much water (if such things happens - it would constitute that the one was making mud pies not fresco LOL). Line it up with black masonry paper and go ahead like it was never there. If the wall has mold ore salt deposits than the best way is to offset your fresco 1-2 inch away from it.

Ed

I was reading your post "RE: combining sculpturing with pain..." when you said "Now I carve/model in a lime putty/marble dust/white cement mix." may I ask what are the proportions you use.

I was reading about sugar and caseins etc. being mixed with lime putty to make imitation marble, I have got confused with some of the terminology, does stucco lustro = imitation marble, and what is scagliola? I'm trying to keep up with some of the posts on the board but sometimes the names go over my head.

thanks

ed

Stucco Duro is even deader than fresco - there is no one in North America practising it at this time and the only examples over here are in Spanish Colonial Mexican churches. My own formula is still being adjusted, and I may choose to sell it in buckets, so it is closely gaurded.

Are you mainly a painter or a sculptor?

I have a lot of time and do not mind "experimenting" as long as I learn along the way, thanks for your book suggestion I'm going to try and get it. Btw I do not think that fresco is an easy thing to do I do recognise the time effort and talent people have to put into their work.

I have Vasari,Cenni and Doerner books they give some details but cut off at the point of interest,the scagliola and stucco lustro and duro descriptions have cleared up a lot of confusion--my head was getting sore trying to keep up.

See ya later

ed

sorry I ranted on a bit