Local artist Anne Harkness hopes the pieces of her giant canvas that have hung in River Life Fellowship since 2008 will soon find new homes.
Harkness, who has a degree in graphic design, was asked by River Life Pastor Byron Wicker in 2004 to create a mural-like canvas to match the size of an existing one on the wall at that time.
But Harkness had a much bigger idea.
“I suggested that we make the canvas the whole length of the stage, as there are currently windows around the entire room and the canvas would be a great backdrop, and he liked the idea,” she said.
“I showed him a couple of designs after I’d worked on them a few weeks, but the one he liked was a little thumbnail I’d drawn with a bunch of quick smiley faces to represent the faces I would create. As soon as the pastor saw that one, that’s what he chose.”
Harkness’s husband built three canvases and hung them side by side – 9 feet high by 30 feet long -- in the sanctuary. After a trip to Israel, Anne Harkness began painting faces that represented people from all over the world, the body of Christ and the kingdom of heaven.
“The mural took four years to create and the colors started off a little muted then grew stronger as it developed and I changed as an artist,” she said.
River Life Fellowship, on N.C. 150 west of Mooresville near Lake Norman, has treasured Harkness’s work since it was completed, but the church has grown so much that the acrylic mural must be taken down in order to accommodate an expansion that will add 100 seats for the congregation.
“I plan on dividing up the canvases into 53 pieces and doing a virtual auction at the end of February,” she said. “I actually suggested doing this auction a while back, because I knew the canvas wouldn’t last forever. I know we have a large church community and web-based following, and people have become attached to certain parts of the mural that they identify with.
“I’ve been told that particular faces remind them of loved ones and I wanted to give them an opportunity to bid on and keep the piece they enjoy.”
Proceeds from the auction will go back to the church, helping to fund mission trips for the congregation in the future.
“I don’t really have a goal in mind on how much I would like to raise, I just want the mural to go to a good home,” Harkness said. “The auction is open to the public, not just church members and will start at the end of the month.”
More information about the upcoming auction will be posted on the River Life Fellowship website, riverlifefellowship.com this weekend.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement