Livonia artist's mural beautifies church hall

Livonia, Michigan -- Talented local mural artist Ellen Leigh has recently completed a stunning hand painted 'Stained Glass' mural in a Livonia church.

Ellen Leigh of Ellen Leigh Interiors was commissioned to design and create a large scale mural in the lower level Fellowship Hall in Livonia's Rosedale Gardens Presbyterian Church. Adding light and life to a weekly gathering space, it has already created a positive impact on the people who gather there.


"They are truly stunning, and add so much beauty to our Fellowship Hall. Beautiful work... which will be enjoyed for years and years to come," said Becca Rowan, a member of the church.


Barbara Gibbons agrees. "They are really awesome, and brighten up the Fellowship Hall."

While the actual painting process spanned three weeks to fit with church scheduling, the project was conceived late last May when Leigh was contacted to propose studies and designs for the room.


"Essentially it's just a really huge basement- concrete block walls, with no outside light, but a weekly gathering space for fellowship and worship. It really needed a sense of the outdoors, sunlight coming into the room, and it needed to be pretty big," she explained.


Additional challenges presented themselves with the concrete block walls. "The rough texture is difficult to paint on, small details are nearly impossible to achieve, and the designs needed to take that into consideration."


The plans took shape, and after proposing two very different designs for the space, committee members at Rosedale selected the very colorful and light filled "23rd Psalm Stained Glass" mural design.


Committee member Linda Hively had high praise for the finished work. "Ellen Leigh Interiors exceeded our expectations, from the initial mural design to the finished art work. She took a bare wall and transformed a room into a warm and welcoming meeting place. We could not be happier with the exquisite masterpiece that she created."

The mural is actually three separate 10-foot square murals, painted directly on the wall from floor to ceiling that appear to be backlit stained glass. They depict an outdoor scene, very stylized and colorful with elements that continue from one panel to another like windows overlooking a scenic view. The effect was achieved using acrylic and latex paints and sheer glazes layered over a white base to give a sense of sunlight coming through colored glass.


Psalm 23 was the inspiration for the composition and there are elements from that scripture to be found in the art. "I've been blessed with this creative gift, and I'm very glad to be able to share it with this church," Leigh said.


Rosedale Gardens Presbyterian Church is located at 9601 Hubbard at W. Chicago in Livonia. Services are held at 9:00 in Fellowship Hall, and at 10:30 in the Sanctuary with Coffee Fellowship after in Fellowship Hall every Sunday. Leigh is a lifelong member of the church, and her work decorates several other areas of the church as well.


About Ellen Leigh Interiors:

An Interior Designer since 1979, Ellen Leigh began painting murals and designing specialty wall finishes in 1997 for an ever growing list of clients. Her talents and inspiration have lead her to paint creatively for many area homeowners and businesses in the past 12 years. A former Livonia resident, she is currently located in Plymouth and can be contacted in her studio at 734-420-5393. More information and photographs of her work can be found on her web site at www.ellenleigh.com.