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44News Tribune.But for students in Neisess’s generation, the mural was the center of the campus. Between classes, Neisess watched Kassler paint the fresco on freshly damp plaster. He liked to drive by in his 1928 Model A Ford at night, when the school’s lights shone on the mural’s bright colors.It was a very picturesquething to see,” he said.Two generations later, a flat white surface remains.Hansen, the school counselor, first heard about the mural through faculty lounge gossip. An elderly substitute teacher told stories about a spectacular mural that depicted Bernardo Yorba, an early pioneer, roping wild horses, as well as otherscenes.“He would tell us these tales when we were on break,” Hansen said. “He would talk about this mural, and I thought we should see if it really survived.”Phone calls to city officials and state historians revealed a record of a rare fresco believed to stretch for nearly 80 feet along the school’s auditorium.Former Mayor Molly McClan-ahan wrote a letter to the National Archives, and found out about the historical significance of the mural.The artist’s technique is part of what makes the mural a rare find, experts said. Pigments in water were brushed onto wet plaster. As the plaster dried, calcium hydroxide bubbled up to thesurf»rj an A ranrtpH with ths airSsi.s?:,.■ - 'pi— ;mr-ismm+4 lt;5capply coarse plaster layer, level wall surface.V*-:..Vylt;•Vv7*DRAW full-size sketch ofillustration on tracing paper, pound dotted outline of illustration into plaster layer using sketch as guide, dust with chalk.Amyfine plaster layer to work area.* * it:PAINT pigments onto wet plaster. Colon lock into wall as (Hester reacts with air. Mural dries within hour, forms crustGraphics reporting: BRADY MacDONALOMONICA EDWARDS/The Orange County Registerconservation expert who will help supervise the Fullertoh high school project. Kassler also painted a mural in a children’s area of the Los Angeles Public Library, i“Generally, as an art medium, these things are very rare; that’s the way Michaelangelo did it back in the High Renaissance,”said David Zenger, a founder of Fullerton Heritage, a history-preservation group. “But th$ historical importance of this thing really stems from its point in 1930h Depression-era art sponsored by the federal government.”Zenger found a pair of slightly rusty cast-iron gates propped up in a yard at La Vista Continua-al-arts shop that is also used for auto repair classes.“It was really exciting because in preservation you read about these things all the time, but it never happens to you,” Zenger said. “I mean, this is the original artifact, the gates, and I couldn’t believe I found it.”Zenger hopes to see the gates reinstalled in one of the archways in front of the mural.Over the past year, the school’s teachers and students raised about $47,500 in donations and grants, including $25,000 from the California HeritageFund, a state conservation effort, to restore the mural. Students are signing up for the summer restoration class, and schoolor lectures.“It’s amazing to find out about the history and you kind of start to feel like you're part of history,” said Jon Christman, 17, a senior who plans to work on the mural this summer.Kids will learn techniques for museum-quality restoration. “It’s a historical opportunityfor students and volunteers this summer,” said Principal Cynthia Ranii. “I mean, nobody’s making new 1930s frescos anymore.A
Newspaper Details
Santa Ana Orange County Register
Santa Ana, California, US
Fri, Mar 14, 1997
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Los A.
CA, USA 08 Nov 2019
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