“It’s amazing to watch it all come together,” historical society member Mary Newcomer remarked as she walked through the opera house. ![]() “It’s a beautiful design that includes a cabochon, or gem, in the center in an ombre coloring.” “It was like an early kind of wallpaper,” Mrs. “In the 1870s, this trade/paint work existed to look inset, like crown molding.”Īdditionally, ornate stencils are being applied to the walls of the space, with a second layer of the stencil being applied Tuesday. ![]() “I absolutely love doing this kind of work,” she said. Blanck explained that the painting appears to be 3-D by utilizing the painting technique trompe l’oeil, French for “to fool the eye.” ![]() The design also incorporates swirling grape vines throughout the ceiling. West Liberty Historical Society members visiting the opera house Tuesday marveled at how the nearly completed paint scheme on the ceiling now looks like it also incorporates crown molding. Ann and Michael Blanck of Blanck Studios, Wisconsin, apply a stencil and paint to the wall of the West Liberty Opera House Tuesday. One major transformation in the venue has been marked during the past five weeks while Michael Blanck, and his wife, Ann, of Blanck Studios, based in Wisconsin, have been on site to oversee the historic paint restoration process, reverting back to the performing arts center’s original look of intricate paint and stencil work on the walls and ceiling. The West Liberty Opera House is currently undergoing extensive renovations to mirror historical documents and paint analysis from its opening days around 1870, undertaken by dedicated West Liberty Historical Society volunteers and local contractors. Nestled in the second-story of the West Liberty Town Hall, a hidden gem that once hosted spirited performances and served as a central hub of the community’s social life from the late 1800s to the 1950s is being restored to its historic glory so that it can be utilized by area residents once again and for future generations to come.
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