One day I was introduced to a woman who sat in the same row I usually take up at church. The friend who introduced us mentioned my murals around the world. I said, “I’m always on the lookout for a worthy wall. So, if you know someone, I’d appreciate the connection.” Much to my surprise, I was contacted by Columbus Relief the following day. (They work in downtown Columbus to support homeless people and others in need.) That quick reply certainly wasn’t expected. It took a while for plans to fall into place. Originally, it was going to be an interior mural. Then, it was decided to paint when a youth Work and Witness team from New Philadelphia and Dover, Ohio, came to town.
I have a favorite store. It’s the Sherwin Williams Paint store near where I used to live. I’ve blogged about them before. They have a poster that advertises (so far, unsuccessfully) my murals. They also have a manager and sales representative that believe in what I do. Ryan, the rep, did more than I ever could have asked for. He scoped out the wall and then painted the surface with a white primer before the kiddos showed up. It was so much help. While he did 99% of the priming, I mostly entertained him with conversation while he worked the roller. In an hour and a half, all the work was completed. And then, the manager gave me a very good price for the mural paint. No wonder I love that store!
On painting day, I needed a little help to begin the project. I needed to place a grid on the wall with a chalk line. That’s something I can’t do by myself. I needed an available body and there was nobody inside Columbus Relief to assist me. So, I asked one of the men outside the building if he could lend a hand. That is how I met Howard. I have encountered the kindness of strangers wherever I wander with or without murals. But, I must say, I wasn't really expecting it at home in Columbus. As I sat down in the dirt to work on my sketch, Howard said, "You're going to need insect repellent here." I was prepared with sun screen. I wasn't prepared for insects. But, Howard was prepared and went to his bag of treasures for an insect wipe. I'd never seen one before. My new friend was prepared, and I was so touched by his kindness.
Howard was more than willing and ready to assist. And, truth be told, he became my right-hand throughout the project. Chalk lines went up very easily on the lower level before the scaffolding arrived. Climbing on very unstable scaffolding could put my life at risk for my art. I had no desire to do that. We dug a little dirt away to lower the side of the scaffolding by the wall. Then, we supported the other wheels with wooden planks. While I completed the sketch in the upper parts of the mural, another man stood by the scaffolding the entire time to keep it from tipping. It all worked out. The drawing was up and ready for kiddos arrival the following day.
The message for the mural design was “We LOVE Columbus”. The biggest section of the lettering was the world L O V E. The “O” was actually a heart. Inside the heart is the mission statement of Columbus Relief. It’s a verse from Galatians about the Fruit of the Spirit.….
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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 |
Following that theme, the letter “L” has a peace dove. The letter “O” obviously illustrates love. Inside the letter “V” is a handshake for goodness, someone bearing gifts for kindness, and a girl jumping for joy. Finally, in the letter “E”, I expressed gentleness with a hug, self-control with the workings inside the girl’s mind, and faithfulness with the man praying. You may notice that I didn’t illustrate forbearance. There was no room for it and I had no idea what to do with that word anyway. As usual, I like to hide the number of the mural in the design. This time it is 75. However, this time there is another hidden treasure to be found. One of my friends in Vermont wanted to paint with me for some time. It never happened. She died from cancer. But, I told her that in my next mural that I would hide a “VT” for her beloved state in her memory.
Before the kids took up brushes, Howard and I made final preparations. He climbed the ladder to finish drawing the trim which saved me from an accident. Then, he worked on painting the sky. I decided it was better to have him at that height instead of kiddos - or me! While he worked on blue, I rolled out red paint on the heart. It took almost the entire quart to make the heart rock the mural.
I painted with alternating groups of boys and girls. I kept the groups small so I had time to talk with them individually. The day went remarkably well. The mural had three levels. They kids easily painted the ground level. The mid-level area that was out of their reach required ladders and scaffolding. Then, the top level of sky and the Columbus skyline was for Howard and his unexpected assistant, one of the teens from New Philadelphia/Dover who was not afraid of heights.
On one of the days, I was lectured by three of the students about social media. The girls insisted that I should be on it. I was told, “You should hire some kind of publicist to make you famous AND RICH. There is no reason that this shouldn't be accomplished!” Being the most “non-famous world-famous artist on the planet” was not acceptable to them.
As painting continued with scaffolding and ladders to reach middle range heights, we needed people to spot the young people painting the heights. Since the scaffolding was so insecure, someone had to stand by it to steady things in case the scaffolding wobbled. Sometimes it was one of the chaperons. Other times it was me. And finally, one of the teenage boys manned up to protect the girls. He was a delightful he-man, and one of my favorite pictures in the Photo Section is the he-man holding up the scaffolding just as the Hulk might do. I had time to talk to him a bit. He said, "My dad suggested that I read How to Win Friends and Influence People. Have you heard of that?” I told him I had, but I'd not read it. Then, he quickly replied, "You don't need to." It was the highlight of my day. I never expected a sixteen-year-old boy to recognize my skills with helping people paint a mural.
This mural came together quickly. There were four days scheduled for teen painting. But, by the end of the third day, the kids had worked themselves out of a job. The only things left were the outlining, which I do, and ladder work for the highest portions of the mural. It was fast and so very much fun. The kids are determined that I should come to New Philadelphia/Dover for continued murals. They are ready to paint with me and have made plans to talk to parents, principals, and ministers. So, I wait and hope.