// implementation.
RenderingContext rc = RenderingContext.getCurrentInstance();
assert(rc instanceof CoreRenderingContext);
CoreRenderingContext crc = (CoreRenderingContext)rc;
StyleContext styleContext = crc.getStyleContext();
StyleProvider styleProvider = styleContext.getStyleProvider();
// skin properties are stored in an Map<Object, Object>
_properties = styleProvider.getSkinProperties(styleContext);
// Under normal circumstances, the StyleProvider will return
// a non-null, modifiable map. If the skin/style subsystem