Meet Theresa Cheek, 
talented artist, wearer of stenciled jeans and author of a new blog called "Arts The Answer". I discovered Theresa when she submitted photos of her work to the Gallery of the International Decorative Artisans League (IDAL). One of my extra curricular tasks as a volunteer for IDAL is to select photographs from the submissions and feature them on the gallery. Do visit. You do not have to be an IDAL member to see the pictures. Initially, Theresa had sent me details of a beautiful Chinoiserie mural and I wanted the gallery viewers to see more of it. A correspondence and more pictures of her work followed. Now, I do like to treat my lovely readers. But too much of a good thing is not wise for anyone, so I am saving Theresa's Chinoiserie project to show you soon. However, she has restored and recreated some fabulous historical stencilling in Texas, USA and I cannot wait to share this one.
Theresa tells me, "The home was built in 1888 for a prominent family. It is known as the "Senator Chilton home" in Tyler, Texas. The stenciling was not original to the home, but was done somewhere between 1888 and 1908. There is no documentation as to who did it or how long it took."
She adds, "It has been covered my whole life with layers of paint and wallpaper. I had always heard rumors of the murals and stenciling from older people. The current homeowners are on a historical board and wanted to find out if the rumors were true. They began to scrape back paint and found wallpaper. This layer is what saved the stenciling. The paper was applied in the 1930's and had a muslin liner behind it. It wasn't until around 2000 that the murals began to emerge with the intense labor of removing multiple layers of paint and paper. We assume itinerant painters did this, but the scale and quality is very high. There are at least two more rooms with stenciled walls and ceilings. We have uncovered a section in each room to show the patterns, but money is not available at this time to do restoration. There is also rumor of a mural going up the staircase wall. Nothing has been removed in that area to prove or disprove this. ANY HELP you might have on the style or origins of this job would be appreciated by me and the current owners."
She adds, "It has been covered my whole life with layers of paint and wallpaper. I had always heard rumors of the murals and stenciling from older people. The current homeowners are on a historical board and wanted to find out if the rumors were true. They began to scrape back paint and found wallpaper. This layer is what saved the stenciling. The paper was applied in the 1930's and had a muslin liner behind it. It wasn't until around 2000 that the murals began to emerge with the intense labor of removing multiple layers of paint and paper. We assume itinerant painters did this, but the scale and quality is very high. There are at least two more rooms with stenciled walls and ceilings. We have uncovered a section in each room to show the patterns, but money is not available at this time to do restoration. There is also rumor of a mural going up the staircase wall. Nothing has been removed in that area to prove or disprove this. ANY HELP you might have on the style or origins of this job would be appreciated by me and the current owners."
So if anyone can help her please comment here or on her blog.
Theresa goes on to say, "With a degree in Art History, I have always had a fascination for art. I love the execution of a project but the historian in me enjoys researching a project to get the details accurate. I have been an artist for over twenty years specializing in murals, gilding and restoration. I have traveled to Europe on a yearly basis since 1999 and enjoy talking to and working with artists there. I now specialize in decorative art, working with stenciling, faux marble and faux bois."
So there you have it. More of this fabulous project is featured on Theresa's blog and I will be featuring her again soon.
Helen
hello theresa!
what a wonderful project and so nice to see ms cheek getting some attention
Posted by: Lynne Rutter | June 19, 2009 at 07:45 PM
Theresa's work is sublime and her blog is incredible. Really happy to read about her here!
Posted by: Fauxology | July 13, 2009 at 02:18 AM
These are exquisite!
Thank you
Posted by: Parisbreakfasts | October 26, 2009 at 01:21 PM