Marcia Carole, mural painting, Cambodia
For some reason, as a quiet, watercolor painter turned artist missionary, I’ve become a muralist in other countries. I guess God knows the reason. It hasn’t been my plan. However, it certainly is an important and fast way to bring artists together!
Amazingly, with minimal translation, this mural was created with 6-9 artists in a children’s nursery at a center helping exploited children. I suggested a large tree at the corner, flanking both walls, with a river and the countryside to either side, and they took off with the rest. Young, eager artists seemed to come and go over the course of 4 days. A core of 5, older young people, seemed to be there most of the time, and two women from my team, Erika and Diane, were a huge help. We became a team fast, certainly, because our collaboration was centered around our love for Jesus.
One really important aspect of painting the mural was our time together before painting. I shared a little devotion each morning. I tried to pass on the concept of artists as servants in the body of Christ. Our gifting is to be used to bless others, be generative, oftentimes, and we need to serve our fellow artists, I spoke softly into their hearts. I encouraged the group of young artists to continue painting on another mural, working cooperatively as we had on this mural. I pray for each of these young artists. May they share their faith in Jesus, and passion for art, through creative, redemptive work in Cambodia.
The young artists were determined to paint the mural – floor to ceiling. Paint was a bit scarce, but we made the most of what we had. Being creative, eventually the young artists mixed all the cans of colors to make the brown at the bottom of the mural.
