Pottsville artist expresses her faith in painting of St. John the Baptist

Apr. 8—POTTSVILLE — During the month she spent painting a mural of its patron saint, Kim Searle would occasionally slip into the sanctuary at St. John the Baptist Church for inspiration.

There, in the soft glow of stained glass windows and statues painted in 19th century Germany, the Pottsville artist nourished the spirituality expressed in her paintings.

"I often pray before I paint," Searle said. "It fuels your soul."

During Holy Week, she revisited the mural depicting the life of St. John the Baptist painted last summer.

Done at the request of the Rev. Kevin Bobbin, pastor, the painting occupies the entire wall at the head of the east stairs leading to the sanctuary.

It augments a painting of the prodigal son by the late Dave Naydock at the top of the opposite staircase.

An alcove in between the paintings is occupied by a copy of La Madonna della Pieta, Michelangelo's sculpture of Mary cradling Jesus after he had been crucified at Mount Golgotha on Good Friday.

Working on a scaffold, Searle transformed a white space into a shrine to the preacher Jesus called the greatest of prophets.

The mural is built around a life-size portrait of John holding a streamer inscribed "Agnus Dei," Lamb of God, with a lamb at his feet. The Holy Spirit hovers over the saint's head.

In John 1:29, John says of Jesus, "Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."

A depiction of John baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River is in the upper right corner. John preaching to a gathering of faithful occupies the lower right corner.

A pair of angels watch over John on the left panel.

Searle, a graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design in Lancaster, describes her depiction of the saint as a modernist version of how he looked.

She takes artistic liberty with the halos around John and Jesus, showing them as a conglomeration of tiny orbs.

Searle's homage to St. John the Baptist is not her first venture into the lives of saints.

Last May, two months before she did the mural of St. John, she showed portraits of Catholic saints at the Tamaqua Arts Center.

Organizers said her paintings exhibited the power to illuminate, transform and inspire viewers.

The showing included portraits of Mother Teresa, Joan of Arc and Padre Pio, a personal favorite.

In painting John the Baptist, Searle portrayed the saint as at once very strong and kind and gentle.

"I paint saints because I find them interesting," she said. "Saints are ordinary people who have done extraordinary things."

Contact the writer: rdevlin@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6007