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!!

The goal was to create 40 pieces in 30 days.  A daunting task, considering I’m married with children, and still need to take care of my family’s needs.  A bit of laundry went undone, and I didn’t do many complicated meals this month.  My husband spent a bit more time with the boys, and I accomplished the task.

I figured I’d learn some lessons along the way, make some discoveries about the process, likes, dislikes and such.  I was not disappointed.  I did learn and discovered many things.

One exciting and encouraging discovery was that I can paint quite quickly when under the gun.  I used to think of myself as a bit slow in my process, but now not so much.  Sure, some pieces need to “take their time”, but not everything has to be that way.  And if I can do 28 finished pieces in a month, then I certainly can do 10,  just as well, and still keep the family happy.

I continue to be drawn to many styles, and don’t intend to box myself in, but I was reminded of  how much fun the mixed media pieces are, especially when I incorporate drawing and my own photos into them.  They keep me engaged and  “not bored”.  And they give me license to continue to improve my photography habit!

The one desire that hasn’t gone away is the driving desire to show my art in public.  It’s nice that so many people can look and see everything online, but looking at it online, and looking at it in a room, seeing the size and paint textures are completely different.  So now, all the more reason to pursue venues and ways to show my art somewhere, anywhere.  If anyone in or near Bucks County has any ideas of places I might try, or places that will take art, please let me know.  I’m even toying with the idea of renting a storefront  or some other space, and making my own gallery showing…

If you haven’t seen the art I’ve been making, go to 30dayartist.com where you can go thru my month of art backwards, with all the blog entries.

If you’re interested in buying something, contact me via the contact page, and I will give you a price, per individual piece. Depending on medium, framing needs,  the prices will vary.

Here’s a quick picture of all the work I created this last month.  Soon to become part of the gallery page.