When you think of a Cedar Rapids church, you picture a local congregation in a quaint steeple-topped chapel amidst rows of corn fields. Spirit of Faith Family Church serves a much wider flock -- in the comfort of their own living rooms. The house of worship was recently equipped with state-of-the art technology and staging for live broadcasting of church services.
The talents of artisan Chuck Lillis of Lillis Painting & Decorating in Marion, IA were sought by Pastor Jay Eberly. “The pastor and his team asked lots of questions to make sure that I could handle the critical detail work since the television cameras are not forgiving,” said Chuck.
The pastor knew the look he wanted. The phrase “Mediterranean classic elegance” was the guiding concept for Chuck to use wood graining, marbling, and crackle techniques to warm up the pure white altar setting to a reverent house of worship.
The pulpit is subdued among the majestic features including the dramatic marble arch sitting atop four plaster columns. The fluted columns, with Roman Ionic capitals, that defined the expansive 60 foot wide stage were veined to mimic classic white marble.
“They wanted a very subtle classic look to not distract from the speaker or singer,” adds Chuck. The columns were treated with SetCoat®, and glazed with FauxCreme® and colorants, and to preserve the results of Chuck’s extensive labor, topped with C-500™ Urethane.
The particle board areas were transformed into finely aged panels using crackles punctuated with rich wood graining. Chuck’s tried-and-true crackle recipe includes AquaCrackleSize™, two quarts AquaCrackle® Fine Line, one quart O’Villa® and one quart Venetian Gem® White on White. “This recipe is easy to work with, and I’ve used it on all sorts of furniture and doors,” he says. “Sometimes with crackle you get too much movement, but this gives beautiful uniform cracks. I can’t say enough about the quality of the Faux Effects® products.”
After rolling on the crackle and lightly sanding when dry, he applied a thinned-down coat of SetCoat® Clear followed with a glaze over the top using FauxCrème® Clear mixed with colorants to create an umber/mahogany tint to “catch down in the cracks and the crevices for accents.”
“The project was a pleasure. Delightful people who were willing to push the envelope,” he said. Chuck initially picked up his graining skills from a third generation grainer and credits Faux Design Studio with his additional training and support. “Their service and getting product to me ... they are top notch. I get a lot of help from those folks.”
DECORATIVE ART BY: CHUCK LILLIS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY: DAVE JOHNSON (PHOTO PRO)
WRITTEN BY: DENISE M. CARNEY
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