Stencil of Ceiling (Mariner's Church) c. 1937

James McLellan made this stencil of a ceiling in the Mariner's Church, in what looks like watercolour, though, who knows, maybe gouache, and I love the idea of someone preserving a particular aesthetic with such precision. Look how McLellan embraces the process, those thin horizontal lines creating a trompe l'oeil effect, suggesting the individual boards that form the original ceiling. It’s a beautiful rendering of architecture in the humblest of materials. The blue is mixed perfectly, reminiscent of the Renaissance, so that the ceiling becomes like a clear sky. Then those carefully stenciled floral motifs and crosses in white and black against the blue give the piece a depth, both literal and metaphorical. Consider the little black cross, slightly off-center. It's a small detail, but it pulls the whole composition together, reminding us of the human hand in its creation, or even a nod to the kind of outsider art made by Bill Traylor. This stencil isn't just a copy; it's a translation, a conversation between McLellan and the space he's depicting, full of quiet intention.