Hairstylist painted at Sandy Hook Christian camp
Claudia May didn’t have much artistic experience when she undertook painting a huge mural at her sister’s Christian camp — but she did have faith.
And the result turned out better than either of them expected: an interpretive piece that uses a grand scale to subtly tell the story of Christ’s life, death, resurrection and coming again in hues of blue and white.
“God was behind me. That is all I could say,” May says.
She created the mural in April at White Horse Christian Retreat Camp in Sandy Hook, which her sister, Carol Nicaud, has owned for the past 20 years. The piece covers a long, tall wall inside the 150-seat chapel.
Part of the challenge May faced was that the space doubles as their projection screen, showing movies and words to sing-alongs to campers. May, who is a hairdresser in Poplarville by trade, worked around that by making a large white spot in the middle, which is built up from matte to glossy and represents the bright light shining from the gate of heaven.
Emerging from the edge of the whiteness is a white horse ridden by Jesus. It’s the camp’s namesake and is symbolic of Christ’s return, as foretold in Revelation 19:11-16.
The rest of the piece is highly abstract, allowing viewers to draw their own conclusions about its message.
Nicaud said she saw right away a movement spanning the whole story of God’s only begotten son. Beginning on the left side, she interprets it as Christ’s birth, then a cloud above it, with a dark lining, represents His death on the cross. Above that are three wisps, for the three days in the tomb.
Then in the middle is heaven, where Jesus sits at the right hand of God, and the white horse. Beside that is an angel, representing praise to God, and finally a dove for the other member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.
May said it took her 10 days of up to six hours per day that included climbing up on scaffolding. The painting is at least 40 feet wide by 14 feet tall, Nicaud said.
Her previous painting experience included only Art 1 in high school, from which she knew the basics of shading and perception, and one of the group painting classes that have gained popularity in recent years. She said she told the Lord it was up to Him how it would turn out after her sister asked her to do it.
Nicaud, who hosted her first group of campers for the summer recently, said everyone has been very impressed so far. May, too, is satisfied with her creation.
“I’ve gone back and looked at it a couple of times, and there’s nothing I want to touch,” she said.
Pictured Above: A large mural by Claudia May spans the length of the chapel at White Horse Christian Retreat Camp in Sandy Hook. She faced an added challenge when working on it — the camp uses the spot as a background to project movies and presentations. The artist handled that by putting the white space in the middle representing God’s glory. Photo by Charlie Smith
