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What it takes to clean industrial soot and grime from a Pittsburgh church's murals
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Art conservator Naomi Ruiz uses a cotton swab on a mural by Maxo Vanka that depicts the hand of God handing a tablet to Moses, inside St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, Pa., Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. - photo by AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
MILLVALE, Pa. (AP) — How do you conserve 80-year-old murals that have accumulated decades' worth of soot, salt and other deterioration? Slowly and carefully, using everything from scientific analysis to seaweed extract to everyday tools — like cosmetic sponges and shish kebab sticks. That was the approach taken by a conservation team as they labored on a section of murals at St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church near Pittsburgh.