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Spire{Continued from page A-l)Because the work is so specialized, the gilding was applied at Quinn’s workshop in Urbana. Quinn is hoping to use the same method on the Statue of liberty restoration.Whether that project will Include gold leaf or gold plate is uncertain, but Quinn said he has been accepted for the work if gold leaf is chosen.Quinn has done gold leafing all over the United States, including on five state capitals.He thinks his gilding is different, and better, than most. “Without giving away the secret, it’s all hand applied, ' and we don’t use any gilding tools,” he said. He has researched and copied methods the ancient Egyptians used.It takes a steady hand, a good eye and a gentle but firm touch, he said.The average gold leaf job may last five to seven years, Quinn said. His work is guaranteed for 15, and he’s disappointed if it doesn’t last 25 years.The shining gold numbers and hands began telling the time to passersby eightdays ago, at 4:59 p.m., Aug. 15. They rest against a copper and plywood face Quinn said should last 50 years before the plywood will need replacing.Quinn isn’t without a sense of humor about his work. While the clock faces were out of commission, he and his assistants hung yellow smiling faces on each of the tower’s four fronts.They amused passersby who watched them climb with sure.footedness around the tower. “The rigging is the most intricate and dangerous aspect,” Quinn said. “We take our time; we’re slow and careful, thinking about every step.”The facelift comes on the heels of repairs paid for by the city to the clock works. Disagreement over who owned the clock and its works kept the church and the city from making any repairs to it for more than a year.For months last year, the clock didn’t work. But an agreement in winter placed responsibility for the works in the hands of the city and responsibility for the exterior in the hands of the church.That led to the repairs and the repainting.“It’s something we wanted to have done for a long time but we wanted to have responsibility clear with the city,” Wenner said.“We have records to bear out the city’s ownership, but we wanted to assume reasonable responsibility andupkeep for the steeple.”The job gave Quinn the ability to say he has worked on all of Frederick’s famed steeples. It’s a tradition among steeplejacks to carve identification obscurely into the tower when the job’s through, but Quinn has never done that.“I’m waiting for the perfect job,” he said.
Newspaper Details
Frederick News Post Leader
Frederick, Maryland, US
Wed, Aug 28, 1985
Page 3
Full Page
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USA 26 Mar 2022
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