Tale of two murals

Last spring, I was asked to paint a mural in one of the church walls to bring art to the campus of the Lithuanian Cultural Center in Los Angeles. The flight of our national bird was my inspiration brought about by the unexpected lockdown due to the pandemic. From hibernation, the storks return in spring to the homeland, build their nests and raise their young ones. I shared the hopes of pastor Tomas Karanauskas with parishioners coming back to their mother church when the plague is over.

The masterpiece consists of twenty four birds hovering the landscapes of Kaunas, Siauliai, Kaisiadorys, Klaipeda, Birtonas, Druskininkai, Neringa, Palanga and other cities; symbolizing the message of love, security, health and healing. The clusters of Lithuanian churches and buildings painted below mean companionship, family and harmony of communities (Bendruomeniu Harmonija).  We return to St. Casimir’s as faithful children of God – enduring, brave and caring with one another, like the national bird!

As we continue to pray for protection from COVID 19, Fr. Tomas came up with another mural to honor both our guardian angels and the first responders who risk their lives every single day to keep us safe from harm’s way. The Gathering of Angels will bring together our parishioners in thanking God’s heavenly messengers and guardians who fervently watch us in our day to day lives. It will also connect two cities dedicated to angels – Los Angeles and Vilnius; and an artist from Kaunas, the sister city of Los Angeles.

There will be twelve colorful angels, a symbol of faith, church and divine rule; the twelve sons of Jacob who ruled the twelve tribes of Israel in the Old Testament and the twelve disciples of Christ in the New Testament.  The blue angel represents power, protection, faith, strength and courage; yellow for wisdom in making decisions; white for harmony of holiness and purity; red for service; green for prosperity and healing; purple for mercy and renewal; and turquoise for friendship and loyalty. It will be a whimsical masterpiece where everyone, especially children can sit on the provided benches to have their pictures taken and post them on the social media. 

Fr. Tomas hopes to bring the arts of the Lithuanian community, especially the works of young artists to be appreciated and shared with all parishioners. According to him, they are important in the life of the Church, because they reveal man’s place in history and in the world; illustrating his miseries and joys, needs and strengths foreshadowing a better life.  They elevate human life, expressed in multifold forms according to various times and regions. As such, the Church allows them because they raise the mind to God!

I am grateful to St. Casimir’s parishioners, especially to the Kling Foundation for giving me the opportunity to share my talent in the uplifting of our faith and virtues as one family of God. It is my hope that my fellow Lithuanian artists will share their works to our community here and the rest of LA.