Water Damage – Drypigment.net

Historic Stage Services LLC – Water Damage

Tackling Water Damage and Our Mission

Written by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, PhD

The mission of Historic Stage Services LLC is to help clients make informed decisions about their historic backstage area, especially when considering the repair and restoration of damaged scenery collections. Selecting an individual, or company, to restore water-damaged areas to their original brilliance necessitates decades of experience and an in-depth knowledge of historical scenic art techniques. It is crucial that the individual hired to restore water-damaged areas really understands the original dry pigment paint media and historical paint application techniques.

This article is intended as a resource to help you understand how historical scenery was manufactured, the precautionary measures to take when handling these large-scale artworks, and the various levels of restoration offered by Historic Stage Services LLC. Why? It may be one of the most important decisions that you will make in regards to your stage, as it will directly affect the health of your performers and audience members, in addition to the overall longevity of your scenery collection.

Water damage to roll drop at the Scottish Rite in Danville, Virginia.

Water damage is often perceived as a death sentence to any historical backdrop. Colors can dust or mold can form in damaged areas. Some may suggest that dry rot has set in and the scene is beyond repair. The damaged scenes are thrown out, or left unused high above the stage floor. Restoring a water-damaged drop is never simple, but it is always an option. Almost everything is reparable, no matter how unsightly and fragile it may appear. We have the techniques to restore severely water-damaged scenes.

The process to remove or conceal the water-damaged area is time consuming and complicated. This article is not intended as a do-it-yourself guide, or any instructional manual. It will give you a working knowledge of the process. If a proposed budget and timeline seem too good to be true, it may indicate that the individual or organization is inexperienced and will take short cuts. Restoring a water-damaged area to its original appearance takes time, talent, historical materials and years of training. We will provide you with options.

Distemper Painting

Most historical scenery collections were painted with a combination of dry pigment (powdered color) and size water (diluted animal hide glue). This process is also referred to as distemper painting. The powdered color was transformed into a paste and then mixed with size on the scenic artists’ palette before applying the mixture to a backdrop. It is a complicated process that demanded years of training.

The type of paint used by scenic artists to create stage settings included only three ingredients: color, water and binder. When a roof leaks or a pipe bursts above the stage, any backdrop below is in immediate peril – especially if it was created with distemper paint. If smoke doors accidentally open up above a stage during a rainstorm, historical backdrops can be destroyed in an instant. When water touches a painting produced with dry pigment and size, the colors are immediately reconstituted into a soft state. The painted surface can return to its liquid form rather quickly. We specialize in the use of dry pigment and size water. All of our repairs and restoration techniques use historical materials and paint mediums, don’t settle for anything less.

The Dye Line

There are only two ways to conceal the heavy concentration of color that is characteristic of a dye line resulting from water damage – removal or sealing. One method is to remove the line of consolidated pigment; this necessitates scraping it off of the fabric as depicted in the photograph below.

Another way to conceal a dye line is to apply a sealant on top of the concentrated pigment. This approach attempts to ensure that the color will not continue to permeate the top surface of any new painting. In other words the dye line will continue to reappear in the top layer of paint, even after dozens of coats, unless it is sealed or removed. Historic Stage Services LLC specializes in both methods after evaluating the condition of the fabric and severity of the dye ring.

Cleaning

Regardless of the water damage, the entire painted composition needs to be cleaned prior to any repair or restoration. If the dye line was scraped off, the surface must be cleaned a second time, as any loose paint particles will contaminate the surrounding areas. First, a low-suction dust extractor is used on both the painted surface and backside to remove most of the contaminants. This process necessitates using a HEPA filter in your dust extractor to prevent any potential toxins from becoming airborne. Particle masks must be worn during this entire process – not only by those working on the drop, but also by everyone in the room.

Removing loose surface contaminants with a low-suction dust extractor

It is imperative to understand that over time, a variety of pollutants have settled on the surface of both front and back of a painted drop. These contaminants range from mortar dust and flash powder to bat guano and pigeon excrement. The typical color of the dirt layer can range from a mid-tone grey to a soot black. This layer of filth darkens the light areas and lightens the dark areas, thus reducing the overall contrast of values in the composition. In addition to removing the loose surface contaminants, there is often a layer of deeply embedded dirt and grime that needs to be extracted prior to any repair. Simple dust extraction with a vacuum will not remove this embedded layer of filth.

It requires the use of additional cleaning methods, such as dry chemical sponges and archival putty. The appropriate product cannot be determined until after close inspection of the damage and evaluation of the painted surface. No color should ever come off of the drop while cleaning it, especially with a sponge. If color does come off, it indicates that the binder has failed and is indicative of a much larger problem.

Removing deeply-embedded contaminants with archival putty

Consolidating the Painted Surface

When the binder of distemper paint fails, the color begins to fall off of the fabric. Backdrops with this problem must have the loose particles consolidated to prevent further deterioration. In other words, the dusting colors need to be stabilized so that they will not flake off of the fabric. To stop the dusting of dry colors, an application of the original binder, or diluted hide glue called “size,” must be sprayed onto the painted surface.

Spraying the painted surface with a diluted hide glue solution to consolidate the loose dry pigment

If left untreated, the backdrop’s color and composition will lose all depth and vibrancy. The composition then takes on the appearance of stained fabric. In this situation, only the color absorbed into the fabric during initial paint application remains visible. All of the color on the surface falls to the stage floor or becomes airborne. Some colors are hazardous when they become airborne.

The inhalation or ingestion of dry pigment may carry toxins, posing a potential health threat to all who inhale it. The overall hazard is dependent on the specific color and its chemical properties. Some colors are primarily inert and pose no imminent health threat, while others may contain harmful ingredients such as lead, arsenic or cadmium. Only a scientific analysis of each color can verify the pigment’s origin and define its toxicity. All dusting pigments should be considered dangerous until proven otherwise.

Examples of Our Work

Below are before and after pictures of a severely damaged backdrop owned by the Church of St. Patrick in Shieldsville, Minnesota. Wendy Waszut-Barrett, president of Historic Stage Services LLC and former founder of Bella Scena LLC, completed the work during February 2018.

Before restoration by Historic Stage Services LLC

After restoration by Historic Stage Services LLC

Here is another example of restoring a scene and concealing water damage for the York Rite of Freemasonry in Duluth, Minnesota.

Damaged scene being prepared for restoration at Historic Stage Services Studio

Restored scene for Duluth York Rite degree production with new painted scrim insert in center of the drop

Restored scene placed in lodge room at Duluth Masonic Center, 2014.

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 296 – Still a Man Hears What He Wants to Hear and Disregards the Rest

A line from Simon and Garfunkel’s song “The Boxer” is very applicable for today’s post.

There are pros and cons to every paint system, especially when using dry pigment paint and diluted hide glue. Any introduction of water will reactivate the paint and binder instantaneously. Water damage to historical scenery is often extensive and unsightly. Prolonged water damage is a death sentence, especially if the dry pigment starts to dust off and surface mold appears in areas. Both of these happened at the Masonic Theatre in Winona, Minnesota, when a roof leak above the stage and was never fixed. Paul Sannerud and I were hired to remove and place the entire collection into on site temporary storage when the City decided to finally renovate the auditorium and stage area. Water damage was first noted in the 1990s and it continued until 2014 when the entire collection was placed in storage where it would supposedly await some form of preservation.

Removing scenes for storage in 2014. City of Winona Masonic Theatre. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett.

Extensive water damage in Winona decimated a lovely early-twentieth century scenery collection. The frustrating aspect of the story is that it was entirely preventable, unless you really didn’t want to have a historic drop collection.

I have frequently heard the phrase “People don’t know what they don’t know.” I also sincerely believe that with the correct information, most people can make informed and reasonable decisions. However, some people don’t want to be informed, or ignore the facts entirely. For almost two decades, I repeatedly explained to one City of Winona official the need for appropriate care and handling of their painted scenery. The problem was that I wasn’t telling them what they wanted to hear.

Now the City of Winona only owns a portion of this water-damaged collection. Much of it was auctioned off last month to another Scottish Rite who had no idea what they purchased site unseen. You see the pictures posted for the online auction were from 2010 and the scenery went into storage in 2014. For four years after my 2010 assessment, water continued to damage the historic scenery collection. Streams of water rushed down many of the drops. The roof leak was never repaired, so the collection continued to deteriorate until it was placed into storage.

Water Damage visible on the City of Winona’s Masonic scenery collection, 2014. This photograph was taken when Wendy Waszut-Barrett and Paul Sannerud were hired to place the scenery into temporary storage.

The collection was in far worse shape than depicted in my 2010 scenery evaluation pictures. Yet these are still the pictures that were used for the online auction and the call for scenery preservation bids last month. I contacted the city to express my concern that a recent assessment had not been conducted prior to requesting bids for the work or the auction. Last spring, I had recommended that Curtains Without Borders complete a current assessment and establish the specifications for any restoration work, so that individuals or companies could all bid on the same thing.

While removing the scenery in 2014, I noticed active black mold. Not old mold, recent mold and pointed it out to City officials. Later on, there was a rainstorm and I both photographed and videotaped the water leaking down from the roof.

Puddle of water on the Winona Masonic Theatre stage floor. This photograph was taken when Wendy Waszut-Barrett and Paul Sannerud were hired to place the scenery into temporary storage.

Again, I passed the information onto city officials. At the end of the project, my one assistant said, “Are you supposed to see the sky from the stage?” “No!” I responded, and immediately began looking up. However, without all of the drops, we could clearly see the waterlogged wood of the grid too. I contacted city officials and they came in to see the holes above the stage.

Water damage is visible to wood once all drops were been removed from the counterweight system at the Winona Masonic Theatre. This photograph was taken when Wendy Waszut-Barrett and Paul Sannerud were hired to place the scenery into temporary storage.

Most recently, I explained to the city that I could not bid on a project site unseen, or without some form of professional assessment by an independent entity. The City responded that any interested party could visit and unroll each of the thirteen drops to assess the current damage after scheduling an appointment. It was clear to me at that moment they still had no idea of what they owned, its historical significance, or the fragility of each drop. I was still explaining that the excessive handling – rolling, unrolling, rolling, unrolling – would cause irreparable damage to a collection that was perilously close to the end of it’s life. I could also no longer vouch for the condition of each piece as I last saw it, as before the auction, twenty-five drops were removed from the 2014 custom-built storage rack. People who were not trained in the handling of historic scenery moved, unrolled and rerolled many of the drops. It was a red flag to me.

Custom built storage rack to temporarily house the City of Winona’s Masonic scenery collection in 2014.

I intimately knew the condition of each drop in 2014, but I didn’t know the condition of the drops after excessive handling by city employees. If the tubes were slid out of the storage rack, the painted surface would have been extensively damaged. No one would know the condition of each painted scene until that tube was unrolled on site. The scene could look like the Shroud of Turin.

Example of water damage when the City of Winona’s Masonic backdrop collection went into storage during August of 2014.

Dry pigment that was coming off of the historic scenery at the Winona Masonic Theatre backdrop collection before it was placed into storage during 2014.

Regardless, the drops could be the perfect pairing for a few Scottish Rite Valleys with similar collections, so I entered the bidding on behalf of a client in November. No matter how much I wanted the collection to go to a good home, I couldn’t recommend that my client spend more that $10,000 for the remaining scenes in any case. We withdrew from bidding at $10,000, and the auction ended at $10,010. And yes, the online auction also used the 2010 photos from my assessment, misrepresenting the condition of the collection to those who bought it.

The new owners contacted me and I simply felt bad for them as they had no idea what they had purchased, or the extensive work that would be required prior to hang it. And the Winona collection, the most complete set of Masonic scenery that I have ever encountered in the country was forever split. It is no longer is the perfect example of what theatrical manufacturers marketed to Freemasons. As it went out the doors and made its journey south, I just felt bad and wondered how many of the drops would end up in the dumpster at the end of the day. I cannot express the extent of the prolonged water damage and the care that it will take to repair.

Another example of water damage when the City of Winona’s Masonic backdrop collection went into storage during August of 2014.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring the Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery Collection for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 37.

Water, Water Everywhere

Water damage is always the antagonist in historic scenery stories.

Water damage in Winona, Minnesota, in the Scottish Rite theatre.

Scenery painted with dry pigment and diluted hide glue, or “size,” is water-based and non-permanent. The colors reactivate with the introduction of water, being displaced upon the surface as the water carries pigments elsewhere on the fabric. Highly concentrated areas of color are re-deposited along the edges of water damage and are difficult to conceal. They need to be sealed and then touched up. In some cases all of the color is removed, reverting sections of the composition to raw fabric.

Dark areas along water damage is where the pigment has settled in concentrated areas.

Water damage that removed all pigment and reverted to raw muslin.

The Fort Scott collection was in amazing condition when we placed it into storage on November 23, 2015, at the age of 91 yrs. old! The date when Moses finished the last drop for the collection was November 17, 1924. The scenery was in much better shape than any other historical collection I had come across to date. Part of the reason for the minimal deterioration was the lack of water damage. You have to understand that it is almost unheard of for a Scottish Rite scenery collection to not have some type of water damage; either from pipes that burst or a roof that leaks. Fortunately for us, there were no pipes above the scenery in Fort Scott and no detectable roof leaks!

Winona, Minnesota, Scottish Rite theatre. After removing all of the drops form the lines, water damage to the wooden grid and sky were visible from the stage floor.

Water can also damage drops when it sneaks in through the smoke doors high above the stage and slowly drips down onto the painted scenes. Smoke doors above the stage have a straightforward purpose, allowing the smoke and fire gasses to escape through the stage area and not into the auditorium. These vents above the stage which, when open during a fire, will draw smoke out of the auditorium and up out of the roof, enabling a safer evacuation of the audience. The vents are often attached to compressed springs, so that when activated, they will stay open. Various requirements are determined by the size and the height of the stage. Unfortunately, over time smoke doors can leak.

The reason for the smoke doors is clear – audience safety. In 1903, the Iroquois theatre fire in Chicago killed approximately 600 individuals, many children, during an afternoon matinee. Piles of bodies were discovered lined up in the aisles trying to exit through the locked theatre doors. After this tragedy and the many others that had preceded it, there was an increased effort toward both audience safety and fire prevention. Many fire codes were put in place and included exits, fire barriers, and smoke doors.

Interestingly, the Fort Scott smoke doors were placed above the stage left side. Any leaking that might have occurred happened away from the painted scenes in the off-stage area. I had made a mental note at the time that I would have to keep an eye out for this building anomaly in the future. Was it really an anomaly, or were the architects who worked closely with theatre professionals at that time aware of the potential damage to the scenery and lighting fixtures? If it was taken into consideration for one Scottish Rite theatre, there could be other examples elsewhere.

And then I encountered the issue of smoke doors at the MMHC theatre during the spring of 2016. I was sitting at a construction meeting when I realized that the MMHC smoke doors were centered above the stage and would automatically open when a fire alarm was pulled. I immediately expressed a concern that if the doors popped open during a rainstorm, the contents of the historic scenery would be completely destroyed. Had no one thought of this?

I then continued stating that the collection had a replacement value of over $1,000,000.00 and the majority of it could be destroyed in an instant. Everyone at the meeting looked toward the CEO for clarification and direction. The room was silent. Then I realized that this was a moot point for the CEO he moved on to the previous topic – the need for some safety mechanism to prevent workers from falling through the opening if the doors sprung open.

I kept wondering, “Why did they really want any historic drops in the space if they didn’t care what happened to them after the installation?” After all, what was the point of replicating an historic theatre space to accommodate an entire Scottish Rite scenery collection?

To be continued…