Muldoon, who had broken his back
three months earlier in a car accident, said God had been there for him through
his recovery; now, he wanted to give something back.
"I
was praying everyday, almost every hour to get through each moment," Muldoon
said. "(The accident) changed my life quite a bit. Maybe God's telling me
I need to start helping other people using the talents he gave me."
But his gift wouldn't be so easy
to give.
Muldoon and apprentice
Stinchcomb left Oct. 13 for Estalie, a small and poor barrio two hours from Managua,
the capitol city.
The mural
was to be 35 feet long depicting the baptism of Christ; once they got there, plans
had changed, and now the mural was to be nearly twice that size. Like Jesus with
the loaves and fish, Muldoon and Stinchcomb had to make more out of little --
and in tough conditions.
The
electricity kept going out. Some days, they didn't have enough water to drink
or to clean their brushes. The food, "unrecognizable," Muldoon said,
consisted mostly of beans and rice. The air was stifling and moist like a sauna.
Their beds were cots, murderous on Muldoon's fragile vertebrae.
"I
was out of my comfort zone," Muldoon said. "It was a lot harder to do
everything. But it was incredible."
Nineteen-year-old
Stinchcomb was equally amazed with the community's selflessness, he said.
"I didn't know what to expect,"
he said. " I was born and raised on Marco, so I got a cultural shock and
a half. It made me grateful for everything I have. Life there was way different.
The people were really nice, and if we needed something, they would at least try
to help us find it."
The
two artists worked 12 hours every day, Muldoon said. They somehow stretched their
supplies to make the mural span the length of the church wall. A project like
this would have normally taken six weeks to finish; they did it in less than eight
days, and for free. Something like this, Muldoon told Flato, would cost a paying
customer about $4,000.
Recalled
Flato: "There was one night of testimony of why (Muldoon) did this at the
church dedication. The church seats about 200, and it was packed. There were about
700 to 800 people in the streets, and these people began to weep when they saw
the painting. It was like (Muldoon) was a rock star, they just mobbed him. They
were so grateful, they just wanted to touch him. I was just blown away, it was
so emotional."
Stinchcomb
said the community's reaction was powerful.
"It
felt good; I did my deed," he said. "I think it helped people get closer
to their religion, to understanding."
Muldoon
said the entire experience, from the raw conditions to the barrio's support to
the finished mural, has shown him the power of art.
"The
Renaissance style is my forte, so artistically that wasn't very challenging. It
was everything else," he said. "Normally I get bored, so it was nice
to have an alternative."
"Art
is the universal language; there was translation through the language barriers.
It felt so good to give back and have the opportunity to do something for people
who may never get to taste that kind of visualization."
