Thursday, June 11, 2009

Winter Vacation

It was winter vacation. We were off from the day before Christmas until the day after Three Kings Day (January 6). I had a wall, I had a design, I had tile and tools. I just needed to strip the exterior paint off the wall.

I consulted with someone who was a supervisor with the company that built our school. We discussed sanding, grinding, stripping, power washing, sandblasting, and just about everything we could think of. He suggested adding a layer of concrete over the paint, but I was afraid the weight of the mural would pull it off.

Our principal suggested I talk to our maintenance man - construction by day, school maintenance by night, all around handyman, and someone my students described as "Superman" when I told them how much he helped us - Mr. Anthony suggested a super strength paint stripper and a power washer. He and I worked three afternoons/evenings during the winter vacation, stripping 250 square feet of wall.

I ruined my clothes and burned my skin, but actually had fun. My husband came and brought my dinner, and stripped a section himself. Powerwashing paint and stucco off a wall is a powerful feeling!

And we started the semester with a clean wall.

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