The church has come alive again – literally and figuratively.
Decorative seasonal banners created by Jose Medina and put in place by the Arts and Environment Committee are among the St. Joseph Church Easter season decorations that draw us to the message of the Resurrection.
Medina, 83, volunteered to work with the committee, and at the urging of Fr. Kyfes has used his art talents to create the draping banners.
For inspiration, Medina used photos of the areas in the Bible that tell the story of the Crucifixion and Resurrection. The hues he uses are vibrant, and the images are imaginative.
This project was the first time Medina had worked with paint on polyester. He drew the Resurrection Tomb onto the fabric, but all the other images were created with paint free hand.
Medina worked on the project for two months in a former classroom space in the school. The church provided the materials. He painted numerous five-foot long pieces with water-based acrylics that served as samples to give others an idea of what he could create. Once his ideas were approved, Medina got to work – down on his knees.
He needed all the space to work on the 54-inch wide and 20-foot long banners. “It’s almost like doing watercolor but in a bigger dimension because of the size,” he said. Medina laid a second piece of fabric under his work in progress to catch the paints that dripped through. That gave him silk screens that can be used another time.
“It’s really a challenge. Just putting the water and the colors on the fabric, it’s new and I have no control of the water and where it’ll stop. It’s exciting in a way, bringing out a lot
of things,” he said.
Medina, a Chicago native, got his art training after serving in the Navy. He worked for years in the commercial arts and advertising industry, but never as an artist. His illustrations and paintings were done off-the-clock.
In retirement he lived in Arizona for a number of years before moving to Homewood where one of his seven children lives.
“I never thought I’d be doing this. I hadn’t been in church for quite a while and this is where I ended up,” he said with a smile.
Jose Medina stands beside a 5-foot sample banner as he explains how he painted on fabric.