Karla uses the buon fresco, or "true," method of fresco painting, perfected in 16th-century Italy which produces the richest colors and longest-lasting bond between pigment and plaster. It requires three layers of plaster: a rough "scratch" layer (trusillatio), a "brown" layer (arriccio), and two delicate, fine layers as the painting surface (intonaco). The plaster, mixed by hand in a trough, combines smooth, wet lime with different grades of sand, depending on the layer.
Tracings of the drawing to be used as the fresco are made, and then these tracings are perforated with a needle and taped into position on the wall according to grid marks. In this photo, Karla is shown dusting the perforated drawing with fine pigment to leave an impression on the brown coat. She then connects the dots on the wall left by the pigment in order to have a clear rendition of her image on the wall.