St. Salvator Lutheran Church
Painting
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In January 2007, the church is remodeling. The inside of the church is being painted by Ted & Dianna Mueller from Chester IL. The last time the inside of the church had been painted was 40 years ago by Ted Mueller's Father. The following pictures were taken by Wayne Borrenpohl on January 15, 2007.
The staff: Ted, Dianna and Kelly
In the process of painting, the large portrait of Christ (dated about 1938) was removed and the original portrait of Christ that was painted on the altar (dated about 1870) was found.
Original Portrait dated 1870 , Secord Portrait (1938) and Current Portrait (2007)
Photos by Wayne Borrenpohl on February 4, 2007.
Photos by Wayne Borrenpohl in March 2007
News Paper Article found in Belleville News-Democrat on February 9, 2007 by Wally Spiers
Painting family gives church a makeover
Repainting the St. Salvator Lutheran Church in Venedy has become a Mueller family tradition. "It was last painted in the 1940s by my father," said Ted Mueller of Mueller Painting & Decorating of Chester. He specializes in church decorating and interior design. "He may have done it in the 30's as well. I'm not sure." [Note: The last time the church was painted was in 1966.]
St. Salvator was one of the original churches in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod when it was organized in 1848, Mueller said. The current church building went up in 1866. Now a Mueller is back, refurbishing the church as the church is getting a much needed facelift inside.
Mueller specializes in traditional decorating techniques, such as wood graining, marbleizing, gold leaf and faux finishes, which are popular again. He said he has done a lot of work in churches around the area.
He painted the church's balcony front with the wood grain technique and also will use it on the framework of the large windows. He also will marbleize the columns holding up the balcony.
Part of the renovation involved painting the altar, which revealed a surprise behind the large round portrait of Christ at the top of the altar, which is thought to date from 1938, Mueller said.
"It was falling apart," he said, about the portrait. "It was painted on plywood, which surprised me because I didn't know they had plywood then. But when we removed it, we found what we think was the original portrait of Jesus on the original boards of the altar.
"The original probably was put up there when the church was built," he said.
His wife, Dianne Mueller, who is a free-lance muralist and portraitist, painted a third version of Christ, which now hangs over the original but they took pictures to record all the older versions.
"I think it is neat to have a painting from each of the last three centuries," Dianna Mueller said.
Updated
April 28, 2007
