right click on this picture, then click on "view picture" then use the + magnifier to look at each piece more closely.

I seem to enjoy a bit of torture, when it comes to coordinating projects for church. I take on a huge project which nearly kills me with the amount of time and effort it takes to get it done.
The last few weeks have been exactly that.
I was asked by the pastor last year, if at day camp this year, I would be willing to do art, instead of craft. I was thrilled with the request, even if part of his reason was to save money.
He talked of a mural, or something big….
Fast forward 6 months, when the planning for day camp started. After talking some to the children’s director, we came up with this idea of individual canvases joining, but having each child’s art, with one big drawing to connect them all…. And that’s what I did.
Unwrapping 350 canvases that were double wrapped was a lot of work, as was doing a number grid system on the back of all of them. I was blessed with many hands, which helped to lighten the work.
Another able-bodied carpenter made a plywood wall that would hold all of these canvases spanning 19+ feet across and 10 feet tall. But then there was the issue of how we would get these to stay on the wall.
We’d agreed on velcro, so my wonderful husband gave up many evening hours by standing on a ladder, and putting 190 feet of velcro to accommodate all the canvases and he made sure that the lines were straight. We also had many hands putting velcro dots on the back of the canvases.
When the wall was up against it’s “permanent” home, then I went to work putting all the blank canvases on the wall. I projected my original drawing and stood on a ladder for several more hours to draw the whole thing. Then 350 canvases had to come down off the wall, so that we could pack them all for the children.
All during this, my parents were kinda enough to keep my boys with them in NYC for the week, so I could do all this prep work.
The moment of truth came last week, when we then started to have the kids paint.
They painted in the black shapes/lines which I’d drawn for them. They were only given black acrylic. Many had never painted on a canvas.
The black dried overnight, and we then had color out for the children. They were artist, and could choose to paint their canvases any way they saw fit, except that they had to leave the black alone, and not leave any white on the canvas. They followed my instructions perfectly. But at this point, I still did not know how it all turned out, and how things would all line up.
Wednesday night, when everyone else was gone, we had about 6 or 7 people who came out to help me put the canvases up. Many hands again made this go quick and smooth, with a lot of good organizing by my sister Raquel, who came up from NYC for a couple days to help me, along with Diana, who is the kinda person I need to have on every large project from now on.
As we put the canvases up, it was amazing to get to see the “mural/mosaic” wall unfold. The pieces were all lining up. Even some colors lined up. The black lines were there, and they met up with the next canvas.
The children did not know what the “BIG PICTURE” would be, but I told them I was going to be surprised as well, with how it turned out. And I was.
I could not be more pleased with it. It was a joy and a pleasure, and all those hours of planning, prepping, worrying and prepping, and planning were worth it.
I hope the children do continue to think of themselves as artists, and I’m glad I had a part in helping them see that we are all part of something bigger, and God instilled creativity in all of us, because He is the greatest artist ever!!
Here are some pics of the mural. If you’re in PA and want to see the real thing, drop me a line, and I’ll take you to it. It’s much better seeing it in person. But make it quick, because I don’t know how long it will be on display.

Oh, yeah! When this was over, we also made sketchbooks and had drawing lessons on shadow and light, and drawing a friend!
It was a great artistic week for 300+ children! And I loved every minute of it!!

Drum roll please….

The old Jerusalem unveiled…

13feet x 36 ft latex/acrylic on muslin

54 hours of work, more or less, from start to finish, including the time when I first drew the scene on paper, based on what Pr. Randy gave me.

This is what he first gave me..

It was alot of fun and alot of work.

I had great help from Darla, Pastor Tim, Pankey, Katlyn, Samantha, Andrew, Beverly, Nancy, Becky, and Joanne.

I used a variety of old latex paints left over from other projects.  I think I went thry some 20+ different half-used gallons of paint in order to make the colors needed for this project.  I did use 3 different new colors for the buildings.

I painted on the floor as well as on the wall.  I spent several hours on a ladder.

I can’t wait to see it surrounded by the other things which will make up the stage scene.

Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement.  I felt them.

I pray it brings God glory.

(click it to see it large)

I often have a hard time keeping track of how long it takes for me to do things.

But yesterday, my time was limited, so it was easy for me to see how much time was spent on something…

I spent about an hour and a half at the church, while Phoenix was at school.

This is what I did…

It doesn’t seem like much, since all I was doing was adding in all the brown shading and details, but you have to remember that this section is approximately 36″ x 24″.

Unfortunately the morning has gone, and I’m still at home.

I will have to spend the rest of the day there.  My arm will tire, and I hope it will be mostly done by this evening.

Check back for updates.

Thanks for keeping up with my progress.

Here is a chance for you all to see it too.  Let me know what you like, and if there’s any last things I can improve on.

You can also see the scale of this thing with me standing there.

Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.

Now, I think I have had all the help from other volunteers I can, and I have to do the rest on my own.

The buildings need to be one unit, and I need to do all the details myself.    I won’t be able to get anyone to do it like I do it, or to do what I want, cause it’s just too hard to explain.

Also, I think tomorrow afternoon, the mural will be going back up on the wall, which will make it a bit more challenging to paint, but it will be okay.

Here are 2 more pictures of the progress:

Little did I know what I was getting myself into.  I had said yes to painting, and leading other volunteers, to paint the backdrop for the Easter Musical which the choir and drama team will put on.  I had no idea it would be over 11′ x34′.  That is 11 feet by 34 feet, people.  Say it with me, “that is gi-hugic!!”

Anyway, not only that, but the choir director didn’t have much else to say other than to tell me they wanted it done on some sort of material so that they could reuse it–oh, the pressure!  And that the pastor would give me a picture of what he wanted.

He soon handed me a picture of old Jerusalem which he’d found, and said that was what he wanted.  He wanted it to be dismal, and of course, that is when I learned the size of the thing.  I would have to adapt this scene to fit this long landscape horizontal shape.

I worked on the drawing, and showed the pastor, to which he seemed pleased.  It took me a while to find a place to buy the material from.  After doing a couple days worth of research, I settled on using a muslin.  I would paint it on the floor, and it would get hung up afterwards.

The muslin’s arrival was delayed by several days, and when it did arrive, it was apparent they sent us much more than what we paid for.  That was okay, but this is when my work began.  I set out with a helper, to cut the fabric after having to use a big tape measure twice for the length.

After cutting, Pastor Tim hung it up on the gym wall.

Then we got the projector set up and pointed to see what size my drawing needed to be once on the fabric.

Armed with a big fat permanent marker, I set out to trace what I had prepared.  After a few adjustments, I got going in stride. 

Within an hour and a half, I had the whole thing sketched out, to the surprise of many.

I’m sore from climbing on the ladder, and squatting alot as I sketched.  The pastor liked it, which is really the one I’m aiming to please on earth, besides myself.  I pray God is pleased with my efforts and my service.  The outcome is less of an issue for God, I think.

I also searched throughout the many nooks and crannies of the church for leftover paint.  I have many cans which I will attempt to use and make interesting colors from, tomorrow.

Friday the painting starts.  I will have volunteers willing to help.  I’ll have more pictures friday or saturday.

Keep praying for our efforts.

And speaking of church and art, I’ve been asked to lead the project of working on a mural which will be the background part of the set for the Easter musical/Cantata. I’m thrilled and a little afraid, as it’s a huge undertaking at 37′ long by 11′ high. I will be the lead artist, sketching the drawing, and leading willing painters to get it done.
Please pray for me as I’m in preparation mode. Pray that I will have wisdom about what supplies are needed, what timing is needed, and that the outcome will be a part of the whole presentation, which will bring glory to God. Also, any insight from anyone on painting huge murals would be welcomed. I’ve done a couple before, but this one is huge.