The Bisbee Vine at St. Patrick Church

An idea pops into the brain . . .


You may have previously read that a homily given by Deacon Tony during the 2015 Lenten season was my inspiration. In that homily he encouraged parishioners to not only tithe generously, but to also search their conscience, giving freely of their obvious or latent talents. Sitting in the second pew that Sunday morning, I thought about what I like best to do and how those talents might benefit the church. I thought about what talents the Lord had blessed me with, but  more importantly, how those talents might benefit the parish.  

Some would say, "Color is my middle name."  If that is true, paint is my surname.   Not ordinary type painting, but using the centuries old technique known as Venetian plaster. It’s a technique that first, applies texture to smooth walls; second, two to three different colors are applied to the texture taking precautions to meld…… NOT mix the colors. Finally, applying a rich wood stain gives plain-Jane rooms a warm and unique ambiance. Though combined, colors remain distinct and complimentary to each other.  See examples below.

Surely the church had some indoor place that could use my talents… fresh paint or possibly/hopefully Venetian plaster. Maybe the parish hall would benefit from a wainscoting of Venetian plaster.  Not being limited to indoor spaces I explored church grounds for something to paint/beautify.  Lo and behold the 80' concrete wall,used as a foundation to send a Christmas message, would make a perfect canvas.

Okay, that's it!  But where do I go from here?  Probably permission would be required.  Obviously, to get approval to paint 1000 sq ft of church property one must show what one wishes to paint. Don’t know how, when or why the Seven Sacraments popped into my head. Yet the theme seemed appropriate to me! Surely, 80’ of wall would be an ample canvas to depict the Sacraments of Baptism, Confession, Holy Communion, Confirmation, Matrimony, Holy Orders and Sacrament of the Sick. Depictions of the Sacraments would require a subtle, non-commercial presentation. It all seemed to honor the Catholic tradition nicely. How could any church committee turn that idea down? Especially with pink cherry blossoms floating beneath the Seven Sacraments? As seen in my head….. only!