As part of our church’s 6-week fast, Gregg asked me to make a banner as a focal point and to help illustrate a theme. 
Found near the end of the book of Joshua (Joshua 24:14-28), the story tells about the commitment that the people made to follow God, and the marker stone Joshua placed at the base of a large oak tree, to remind the people of their commitment. We at NFC are corporately and personally renewing our commitment to follow and serve the Lord, so these are exciting times!
After thinking about this opportunity, I decided to do something unusual. Something big. (At 17.5 x 3 feet, this is the biggest banner I’ve ever made!)
It was a fun project! The best part being that I got to spend half of Saturday (including a Subway lunch) with my daughter Alison… Together we enlarged it, painted it, waited for it to dry, and hung it. I’m SO glad she helped me. Without her it would have taken twice as long! Plus she’s a great painter and good at mixing colors!
The drawing:
First, I made the simple sketch with the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator at 1/12th size (1 inch = 1 foot). Then I applied a “charcoal” stroke to the lines, colored them, and filled the areas with simple colors.
Trade secret #1 (how we enlarged it):
We used the church’s projector to enlarge the file directly onto butcher paper that was taped to the wall. We traced the outlines in pencil. Then we painted in the colors, sort of like “paint by numbers” with tempera paint. So cool!
Notice the re-purposing of the projector on the left side of the next photo. We used its cooling fan for a while to help dry the paint! It was pretty slow so we eventually took it outside into the sunshine. A gust of wind overturned part of it, and it did smear in a couple of places (if you look REAL close you may see them), but thankfully no major damage was done!
I brought my Dad’s long ladder with the extended arms to get to the top of the arch, and I taped clean rags on to its arms to keep from scuffing the walls.
This domed structural feature is somewhat like an apse in cathedral architecture. Whatever it is called, there was an amazing view from up there!
Trade secret #2 (how it is held up):
Finished!
Thanks for this Mike. I was a little distracted on Sunday wondering how the banner was made and how an exact replica of it could also be on other documents. I love knowing how stuff is made! You & Alison did a great job.
I’m SO glad you two were willing to do this! I was amazed at how helpful it was to have it there…I’m going to have a hard time going back to a plain wall. Thanks again!
I too Love the banner. It is a great focal point and I’ve always thought something was missing there-since that space is so empty I’ve often secretly wondered if it was left blank for a Friends purpose, some kind of symbolism that I wasn’t “getting.”
Beautiful Job Mike and Alison. I hope the tape continues to stick!
That turned out so well. Thanks for including the verse explanation- I meant to look that up but had forgotten until seeing it again.
Love the revealed “trade secrets”. The question is: how DOES that tape stick for you? Mine always fails at home.
Good job Mike and Alison!
What a cool thing to do showing the steps in the process of presenting this large piece of art!! When I saw the art work I wondered how they were able to do such a great job making it fit just right. The artistic talents of both Mike and Alison Comfort never cease to amaze me! Thanks for taking the time to provide the explanation and for adding beauty to our church.
Have enjoyed very much seeing the banner these past weeks but now that I have seen the love that went into creating it, makes it even more special. Such talented people we have at NFC. Thank you so much!
Wow! Thanks to each one of you for the nice comments!
In my job as a graphic designer, I am able to remain anonymous and “behind the scenes” most of the time. That’s the way I like it best, and one reason I got into this type of work.
But I am also learning that there is a time and a place for me to use my talents and experience to honor God in a more public way. Not for recognition or fame, but as an act of worship. Hopefully in some way I can assist others in their worship, and their pursuit of the things of God.
So, any good that I do is thanks to (and because of) God. I really want to pass on all credit and glory to my Creator—He deserves it all!
Oh - I am really hoping the tape sticks too!