"Quick," he said. "Here's a napkin. Draw something."
She ruffled around in her purse and came up with a chisel- tipped black marker.
"Go ahead, draw something," the Pastor encouraged.
So, the pen was faithful, and drew an angel. And then came the cheers from the appreciative audience.
Thus began the huge, four month long Mural Project, of which these little sheep are but a small portion.
What was NEW to Brooke's drawing experience was finding out about non-toxic paints (children will lick the drawings on the walls. Really.), how to mix extenders ('oh, please DON'T dry before I'm ready!'), and Most Important Of All (!) finding a suitable assistant.
Frankly, the mural could not have been done without Brooke's Able Assistant. Said Able Assistant was Jenna, and 13 years old at the time, and unbelievably good at understanding Panic Speech.
"Jenna! JENNA!!" Brooke Panic Speeched, watching a blob of paint sinking south. " I need a Yanga Yatta, NOW!" her right arm extended significantly at Jenna. "Hurry!"
"One clean 2 inch brush, right," came the inevitable calm reply, as the 'Yanga' was firmly placed in Brooke's outstretched hand.
"Yes, YES! Exactly! Thank you! Oh, you are WONDERFUL!"
Jenna was like a Head Nurse during surgery. She watched Brooke so closely, that she knew what Brooke needed before Brooke could bungle English in her attempt to verbalize it. Sponges, rags, tape, rulers, and even brushes dipped in the right color, would all be shoved into Brooke's hands BEFORE words were exchanged. It was a pretty cool thing to watch, actually.
Brooke tells me that, if Jenna were at hand, she'd paint another mural in a heartbeat.
Wish I could carry more than a #12 brush,
Mildred
