There were three place I really wanted to visit and paint my murals while in the Holy Land. The first location was Nazareth. I stayed there a few days and painted in a town not so far away. The second place was Jerusalem. And, I did that with Mural 2. The final must-see, must-paint, destination was Bethlehem. Seriously, these are three destinations that most visitors in the Holy Land want to see. Very fortunately for me, I got my wish.
Murals 71 and 72 were painted in Bethlehem with the John Paul II Foundation. It is a wonderful organization to help people in many ways. And, Bethlehem, with an economy heavily based on tourism, has suffered with the double whammy of Covid and the Hamas War. The Piccirillo Handicraft Center helps employ people with disabilities. They create artwork with ceramics, mother-of-pearl, and olive wood. The Effetà Institute works with deaf children. My murals were at the House of Peace where after-school activities include dance, karate, soccer, art, choir, and Italian language classes. All of these branches of the John Paul II Foundation help to brighten the lives of those who walk through their doors.
When I arrived at my site, it was not yet determined where the mural would go. To the left of the entrance was a good place, but it was small. In a back corner of the parking lot was an available space, but the mural would be hidden as soon as any car parked in front of it. A third location, front and center, would require moving two very large shrubs/trees. As it turned out, we opted for locations one and two.
Well, that is, we picked those options and then things changed.
The facility of the John Paul II Foundation House of Peace is an elegant old building over 100 years old. There is a construction team renovating the basement. (I would love an apartment there if it can be arranged, please.) Anyway, whatever wall I was to paint needed preparation before I could begin muraling. Plastering and painting was required. Very quickly, locations one and two were worked on, but it was a two-day delay. Then, when the boss of the construction crew saw what was going on, he spoke up. And, I am so glad he did! He said the back corner location was an absolutely wrong choice. We really needed the center location that was blocked by those bushes/trees. I was told the greenery would be relocated. You know, no trees were killed in the painting of this mural. That was my hope and what I was told. Of course, I agreed on the new plan.
And then, the trees were hacked to pieces.
While the new location was renovated, I worked on a smaller mural by the entrance. The logo for the John Paul II Foundation was requested. Then, a little quote in Arabic and Italian was added. After that, a quote from John Paul II was requested in both Arabic and Italian. I can read none of it, but I’m told that I write Arabic especially well.
For the design of the large mural, I was shown an image of John Paul II surrounded by a lot of children involved in various activities. I was asked to do something similar in my style. No problem. I drew the Pope surrounded by children doing the six activities that I already said were done at the House of Peace.
There was no shortage of children who wanted to participate. At times, there were too many, but I did my best to give them all a positive experience. After the two days of joyful chaos with the little ones, for the rest of my time, I had help from four girls (all about 12 years old), Tamara (who ran the center), and Vanessa (a college student with one day of free time). It was all the help I needed for one more very successful mural experience. Of course, you know by now that there is a hidden number 71 somewhere on the mural design. I am particularly pleased with this one’s location. Only one person has found it so far. Perhaps you will have the required eagle eye as well.
Shukran to one and all who made this such a wonderful experience in Bethlehem.