The place of music in our evangelistic campaigns is an important factor in bringing souls to Christ. And the more effective this music can be made, the greater will be its value in attaining the desired objective. Illustrating gospel songs in felt is surely an effective method. Having the picture develop in beautiful colors before the eyes of the audience while the music is being sung and played, multiplies many times the impressiveness of the song.
The secret in the use of felt pictures is the fact that felt sticks to felt, even when at almost a vertical angle. Each picture is assembled piece by piece on a background of felt, while vocal or instrumental music, or both, are being given. The time required is from four to six minutes, just about the same as that needed for singing the song, and the feature is timed so as to have the picture completed about a half minute before the song is finished. A wide variety of adaptations may be used, from a single vocal solo to a full orchestra.
A common background of medium-blue wool felt is used for all pictures. Since the standard size for the picture is 31" x 42", the background cloth should be at least 36" x 48" to allow a margin all around to fold over the edge of the board on which it is fastened. Large-headed or glass-headed thumbtacks are convenient to use in fastening the edges of the felt on the back side of the board. Not only does this background serve as the foundation for the picture, but it makes the sky in the top part of each picture.
A beginner in the use of felt pictures would need to buy one single yard each of medium green, tan, white, and blue felt, and one fourth yard each of purple and black. This supply is enough to make several pictures, if care is taken in cutting. Since the details and shading are painted on in oil paint, artist's oil colors may be used. Tubes of colors in oil, carried by our large mail-order houses or paint stores, however, are satisfactory and less expensive. One tube each of chrome green, ultramarine blue or Prussian blue, chrome yellow, scarlet vermilion, burnt umber, lampblack, burnt sienna, and
French ocher, a small can of pure white lead, and a bottle of turpentine, will make up a first-class paint stock sufficient to mix almost any shade of paint desired.
For brushes, the inexpensive ones are satisfactory. A half-inch brush and a card or two of three or four small brushes each are enough. The bristles on the one-half-inch brush should be cut off to a one-half-inch length, and the smaller brushes to a one-quarter-inch length. These shorter, stiffer bristles will be found to be much better in working the paint down into the rough felt cloth.
The patterns for these pictures are quite restrictive in detail, as shown by the accompanying examples. Making up new, suitable patterns is the test of one's ingenuity in making felt pictures. Whenever we find a good Bible picture with a figure of Christ, that we think will make an appealing felt picture, we have it copied onto a 35 mm. film, put it into our projector, and display it on a sheet of white paper (31" x 42") fastened to the wall. Then with a pencil we trace around such details as trees, rocks, water, shrubs, and hills, filling in landscape in place of the figure of Christ. Figures or details which may not be complete in the slide may be sketched extra to make each part distinct. Then, bringing the projector up closer to the picture on the wall and refocusing, we trace the figure of Christ smaller than it was shown in the original.
In a vertical picture, the figure should be about 20" high, and in a horizontal picture a 12" or 14" figure is about right in proportion to the rest of the picture. Gut the pattern into uniform pieces, following the natural lines of the landscape or figures as much as possible. Figures of Christ are best left in one piece. Then lay the pieces of the pattern on the corresponding color of felt and cut out the felt.
Trees, small patches of grass and shrubs, are usually cut from green felt, rocks or other tan or brown objects are cut from tan, and all figures of Christ are cut from white. This method saves much paint, time, and work in painting. Avoid using black felt as much as possible, unless the object is all black, since black felt cannot easily be shaded with light colors.
With the white lead as the base, mix the various colors needed into a thick paste. Care must be exercised in preventing the paint from becoming too thin, lest it soak through the felt pieces and seal the nap on the back side. Since the picture is to be used in churches or larger halls, bright contrasting colors work most satisfactorily. As in all art work, artistic blending of colors and care with details, add perspective and depth, which comprise the measure of quality.
Evangelistic slides and films, Christian Home Calendars, Bible picture cards, and Bible picture catalogues are a good source of supply for ideas and studies to paint from.
After one has made four or five pictures, pieces from these pictures may be reassembled, and with minor additions they will make other new pictures. (See Illustrations 1-4.) Individual trees, shrubs, vines, rocks, bunches of grass, groups of flowers, and hills may be used several times in different settings in different pictures.
The initial cost is the total expense. The background of one piece will cost about $2.50, and each picture costs from $1.5o to $2.
The possibilities of felt pictures are unlimited. They also possess several distinct advantages over the more common chalk illustrations. The finished felt picture is a refined work of art, not merely a sketch. The clear, bright colors and careful shading in oil paint produce an inspiring setting for the message in the gospel song accompaniment. The felt pictures are clean, and anyone who has made chalk pictures will know what an improvement that means.
Each picture may be used over and over again with different songs. For example, the picture of Christ in Gethsemane may be used with the songs "Beautiful Garden of Prayer," "In the Garden," "Have You Been in the Garden With Jesus ?" or "At the Place of Prayer." With the picture of Christ knocking at the door, the songs, "There's a Stranger at the Door," "The King at the Door," or "He Is Knocking," can be sung. With "The Lost Sheep" picture, you can use "That One Lost Sheep," "One Is Missing," or "The Ninety and Nine ;" with the Holy City picture, "The Holy City," "Beautiful City of Gold," or "The Palace of Light ;" with the Good Shepherd picture, "The Lord Is My Shepherd" or "The Twenty-Third Psalm." And so with the rest of the pictures—a variety of appropriate songs fit well with each one. Each finished picture is permanent and can be used indefinitely without additional cost or repair.
In our evangelistic meetings we plan to blend the different pictures right into the subject being presented that night. For instance, on the night we present the subject ,"Heaven," we use the picture of the Holy City ; or with the subject "Conversion," we use the picture of Christ knocking at the door, accompanied by appropriate special music. This feature comes just before the sermon and besides providing a special music attraction, it also puts the listening audience in the proper mood to receive the message. The picture is then left up all during the sermon in its place near one end of the platform. When the speaker comes to the appeal, he weaves the trend of thought right into the message of the picture, thus having a twofold medium to bring forth that all-important decision. A stanza or two of the same song used in first putting on the picture may be softly played again on the piano or other instrument while the call is being made. All the pictures contain a convicting appeal, and the telling effectiveness of this device has been observed repeatedly.
In larger auditoriums and halls it has been found advantageous to focus a spotlight on the finished picture during the short interval just after all the picture is in place, until the music has ceased. This increases the brilliance of the picture and also helps to seal the impressiveness of the event for that last minute or two, especially if all other lights have been dimmed.
Other possibilities that have not yet been brought to full fruitage are found in using these pictures for illustrating prophetic subjects, such as the image of Daniel 2, the beasts of Daniel 7 and 8, the four horses of Revelation 6, the symbols of Revelation 13 and 17, and others. The various illustrations of the sanctuary could well be pictured in this way. Illustrations in felt open up an almost unlimited field of effective methods.
A further article, on the construction of the art board and stand used in connection with felt illustrations, will appear in an early issue of the Ministry.—Editor.
