Pastor Jeff Motter said the 30-foot mural is “meant to communicate Jesus’ love of children and animals; His all inclusive love.”
Before the mural transformation, Motter said the tan building was nondescript. Now it “has a life of its own,” he said. “Hopefully it brightens the world a little bit.”
Craft said a few year ago, Reed Musgrove, a longtime member of the church, thought about the countless times he passed the “dull and drab garage” on Lebanon Street behind his church.
Not knowing how to get started, Musgrove contacted Craft and commissioned her to complete the mural.
Musgrove wants the mural to be “part of his legacy” to the church, Craft said.
Craft said church volunteers helped prime the wall for painting and set up platforms and she designed the mural.
The focal point of the painting is a classic portrayal of Jesus with a white robe and purple sash. He’s reading to four children.
Craft wants the viewer to imagine Jesus “miraculously showing up” in the church yard and the children running out to Him.
“This shows Jesus is there with us regardless,” she said.
Craft, 63, of Middletown, received her bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Miami University in 1987. She has painted numerous murals, but this is the first one outside, she said.
Since the garage’s surface was “very textured,” she “scrubbed” the paint on the wall.
This summer, she plans to paint another mural on the opposite side of the garage.
The first painting, she said, was “a huge transformation from nothing to something that catches your eyes.”
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