[MR] Fwd: [SCA_S&I] People licking paints

[Sandra Rangel]

Don't lick the paints......  /snicker

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Carolyn Richardson <tetchubah at verizon.net>
Date: Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:57:48 -0700
Subject: [SCA_S&I] People licking paints
To: SCA_Scribes_and_Illumination at yahoogroups.com, scribes at castle.org,
caidscribes at yahoogroups.com

I was in a workshop at the Getty today (gilding workshop for
manuscripts) and Sylvana Barrett, who was teaching it, was telling us
a story about the trip she just made to Greece to study byzantine
art.  One thing she brought back was a picture of a manuscript page
of a saint where apparently the locals believed it was good luck to
lick the saint's face in this manuscript page (maybe ala that story
about the Book of Durrow and the cattle trough).  The saint's face
was completely obliterated - not a trace of paint left on it,
although the rest of the page and the gilding around it was perfect.

She also told us about talking to some restorers who are working on
painted walls at a church somewhere in Greece.  She said when they
were talking one of the local villagers came in and started licking
the walls - which is why the restorers were there in the first
place.  They had to practically drag the person out of the place and
told Sylvana it's been an ongoing problem.  They are trying to figure
out how to seal the paints when they get done to keep them from
getting damaged again.  Apparently the problems they were trying to
fix were caused by people coming in and licking the walls.  I asked
if she didn't mean "kiss" the walls instead (like they sometimes do
with icons) and she said no, they were actually licking.

I thought this was pretty funny, but it's a shame people still aren't
aware of the heavy metal poisoning they can get from this stuff.
Although with the manuscript I doubt they'd get any anymore since
they aren't licking the saint's robes, just the head area and there
is no paint left there.

Tetchubah



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