Beth's Art & Illustration

Prayer Room Mural

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The goal that this mural had was to inspire people to see the beauty in the world that God created for us. It's secondary goal was to put people in a calm peaceful mood, so we can listen to what God says in prayer which is the point of this room.

This picture to the right is an overview of the prayer room shot with a fish eye lens, by Eric Guizzetti.

The room is 14 feet long and 12 feet wide on one side and 3 feet wide on the other side. The ceiling raises from standard ceiling height to about sixteen feet. Most of the mural was created on a ladder. It took me about 180 hours to complete which includes: planning, budgeting, shopping, priming, painting, and varnishing.

This room gets used mainly for private prayer on Sundays and during the week by the pastors during the week. The mural needed to be functional and beautiful.

The cross wall was going to remain clear so people could focus on the cross. We had made the decision before this mural was created to write Mathew 11:28 above the cross in order for people to know they are not alone and God will be there for you. That was an afternoon project done about a year prior to the beginning of the mural.

The entire mural is covered in sets of threes and multiples of threes which helps people focus on the idea of the The Holy Trinity. Throughout the mural there is symbolism, both blatant and subtle, however I also wanted the mural to be relaxing and if people just saw a "pretty picture" so be it.

The dove is an obvious reference to the Holy Spirit, but it is also a bird on the planet which we ignore or call bad names.

When I was painting this, I was wondering how many people
would notice that the doves (on the ceiling) I painted are not pure white, but gray and black as well. This breed is also known as Rock Doves. They are the same pigeons that live in the park or on the sidewalk. I wanted to localize this symbol.

To the left is a close up of the mountain scene it is at eye level so it is what most people look at when they come in. The mountains are Mount Barring and Mount Rainer. While they are not anywhere near each other, I like their shapes so I used them as inspiration for the mural. Most of this mural was done from my memory and imagination.

This image is a close up of the river. It is my favorite part of the mural and the part I spent the most time with. Each rock is different and has moss and ferns growing on it. I liked this because it embodies the wildness and beauty of nature.

On a final note: God created the planet for us and while we complain and worry about the environment, the economy, and our just lives, we miss out on the majesty, splendor of nature. There are millions of wonderful things here, that God gave us to enjoy and most of the time we ignore it until its spoiled or gone.