Peace Mural for Chicago Cares

Fun and scary ... scary and fun... those are the two words I'd use to describe this latest project. A while back an organization called Chicago Cares contacted me and asked if I'd design a mural for a Chicago elementary school and supervise a group of volunteers who will help me paint it for their 18th annual Serve-a-Thon, which takes place this Saturday, June 11th. I'd never heard of this event, but I've since found out it's a HUGE operation! Thousands of volunteers arrive at Soldiers Field bright and early and then are bussed to schools all over the city that need a little extra tender loving care.

Well. The paintings I usually create are measured in inches, not feet, and they end up in the pages of books, so if you don't like the look of 'em, you can close the book. This mural is going to be 12 feet by 8 feet, on the front of a school! Gulp.

The theme I was given is "Internationalism and Peace," and let me just state for the record that I am totally down with that. Now, these volunteers (about 8 of us total) will only have 4 hours to paint the pre-drawn mural, so I decided to go with a coloring book kind of simplicity that can be added to if time permits.

Fingers crossed, prayers said, offerings made, I hope it goes well. When I think of those school kids on a day like today, when the heat index is 103 degrees, sitting in classrooms with no AC, it REALLy motivates me to do a good job. I'm sure the finished product will look different from this (we're painting on bricks, after all) but one thing's sure ... it'll be colorful!
(P.S. the words say "peace" in Polish, Swahili, Urdu, and Mandarin.)