THE ANGEL ARTIST- BILL JERALDS

By Barbara Baham

Family Two

Bill Jeralds is a new “outsider” artist from Ventura, California. He and his art were first brought to the public’s attention in November of 2007 when KCBS newswoman Stacy Butler interviewed him in a news segment about prayers at Things From Heaven. That same day, Bill and his art were included in a full-page story in The Ventura County Star. Since that time, Bill and his art have become nationally known.

Bill Jeralds is not a trained artist; in fact, he had never done any art in his life until he suffered a tragic illness in 2005. Bill had a viral infection turn into double pneumonia, which led to hardening of his lungs and sepsis of the blood. In an act of desperation, his doctors induced a coma to try to reverse his symptoms. They informed his wife Shannon that Bill had little hope of survival. Only about 5% of the people with this disorder survived, and most of them spent the rest of their lives in a vegetative state.

Shannon stubbornly refused to let the hospital turn off Bill’s life support. At three and a half weeks into his coma, Bill amazed his doctors when his vital signs stabilized and he awoke. Bill was far from out of the woods however. He could not walk, talk or eat by himself. Even more alarming to his wife and family was that he had no memory of any of them. He did not even know his own name.

For the next two years, Bill underwent extensive physical and mental therapies.  He learned to walk and talk again, but still all of his life memories began from when he opened his eyes after coming out of his coma. He also had problems with his short-term memory and would become lost even when going on a simple trip to a local store to shop.

During his rehabilitation, Bill began to become aware of angelic presences that surrounded him. He would have Shannon stop the car to see a beautiful angel and all she would see was a tree. In the summer of 2007, Bill decided to create the angels he was seeing into art. At first, Shannon was apprehensive. Bill had never created art in his life. However, she tried not to discourage him, and soon he became obsessed with making drawings of his angels.

Darla

When a friend gave Bill a scroll saw, Bill began cutting pieces of plywood into small pieces and gluing them back into the angels that surrounded him. He brought several of his pieces to Things From Heaven and found that they began to sell at a good pace. He expanded to several more galleries throughout the United States and found success in selling his angels there too.

In the summer of 2008, Bill learned that Arch Bishop Donald Jolly Gabriel of Orange County had led a prayer vigil in his name at the Vatican when he was sick. As a thank you gesture, he met with the Arch Bishop and gave him one of his angels. The Cardinal was elated to receive the spiritual gift and placed it in a prominent spot in his cathedral. To his surprise, miracles immediately began to be reported by the parishioners. They claimed that the angel changed expression from happiness to sadness as the economy of the United States began to fall. They felt a quiet peace and a sense of reassurance in its presence.

"Gabriel", presented to Pope Benedict at the Vatican. 2009

The Arch Bishop was so impressed by Bill Jeralds angel and its miracles that he offered to present one of Bill’s angels to the Vatican. Bill created a special angel for this, and on February 27^th 2009, the Arch Bishop formally presented the angel to Pope Benedict XVI. This event was reported on CBS news that evening. Bill also appeared on the Bunny Vreeland show on AM radio 1400 in southern California on March 1^st.  Bill and his angels are also regularly featured on Time-Warner’s Ventura Community Access Channel 6 on a program called “Angels Are for Real.”

Do you know if you believed in angels before your illness?

Because I have little to no memories of my life growing up it is hard to say. However, recently Shannon and I were going through one of our storage closets and I found a cardboard box marked “Bill’s Stuff”. To my surprise when I opened the box and began to remove the contents, I found a number of beautiful little angels. I asked Shannon about them thinking they were part of her angel collection that was somehow misplaced. She told me that they were indeed my angels and that I had them from the time we first met. It was a very odd feeling to know that I must have collected them but I don’t really have any memories of angels or angel presences in my past.

Guardian Angel

Has the angel made for Bishop Gabriel face remained the same since it changed in the fall of 2008?

Recently a journalist friend of Bishop Donald Jolly Gabriel invited us to spend a weekend in Costa Mesa, Ca so she could do an article on our story and the angels. We spent most of the morning and afternoon talking and answering questions for the article. Later that evening the journalist, Diane wanted to take some pictures of the angels and Shannon and myself. Donald brought his angel as part of the picture shoot. To Diane’s amazement when she took pictures of Donald’s angel, the wings appeared to blur as if moving. Shannon and I were both in the pictures and the nothing but the wings of the angel were blurry. She took multiple pictures of the other angels I brought to the meeting and was shocked when she got them developed. One angel of the angels had changed her lips and eye expression. The angel has crossed arms and is fairly stern looking. Her gaze looks to the right and slightly down. She photographed the angel three times. In the first picture the angels is as I described however in the next picture, the angel has rolled her eyes up and pursed her lips. The third picture was the original pose. It is a very pronounced change. The angel and the pictures are on display at “Things from Heaven”

Protection

Have there been reported healings through your angels and if so have they been verified by any medical evidence?

Gosh, I have heard so many stories from people over the last 2 years who are convinced that the angel(s) they own have helped in their healing. I have never asked anyone to provide a doctor’s testimony or documentation about their illness or subsequent healing, but it is easy to see in their eyes, and sometimes through their tears, that they believe it with all of their heart.

Joy

Angel Cross

Michael

What effect if any have your angels had on the people who own them? Is there a particular story dear to your heart about this?

I have a wonderful story that touches me every time I share it. At the last “Ventura Art Walk” I was the featured artist at “Things from Heaven”. It was late in the afternoon when I was approached by a woman who asked if she could talk to me about the angel she recently purchased. I love to meet the people who have my angels so I of course was very excited to speak to her. She told me she had recently purchased a “Wellness” angel because she was going though some health challenges and the angel touched something in her. She said that she loves the angel so much and having it in her home has brought her inner peace. She said she still has her health challenges but something else “miraculous” has happened to her. She told me her son; a man in his early 30’s, has been homeless for the last 10 years and living in one of the local parks. She has tried to get him help countless times but said he always refuses. She said, “He seems to like living that way and nothing I try seems to matter”. She said her son came to visit her recently because he needed money. She was excited that he came by and wanted to share everything that was going on with her. She excitedly shared her angel with him. He held it and told her “it was nice” but he really just had to go. She gave him money and he left. A few days later, her son called again and told his Mom that he “wanted to get help. He wanted to get treatment; he wanted to get off the streets”. He went on to say that he was not sure why but he thinks “the angel wants me to get better”. Not knowing either of the people involved all I could do was listen and cry with her. She said her son was in treatment and asked that I keep him in prayer that he completes the program. It was a very moving moment that I will never forget.

"Angel of Peace", presented to Ventura City Council on May 4, 2009

Does it ever blow you mind to think that people, from around the world now knows about Bill Jeralds and his angels?

I have been blessed. More than anything that is what blows me away. I feel like every step I have taken has been guided by His hand. All the people I have met, and of the incredible stories of faith and healing that people share with me so easily and all of the opportunities I have had and will have in the future are a direct result of His grace, His gift. I cannot even begin to explain what it feels like to have one of my angels in the Vatican, and even better, in Pope Benedict’s private chambers. I get emails from people in the United States and Japan who thank me for my angels and it makes me cry. I am humbled by all of the attention and thankful to be able to touch so many with the work I do. I am blessed.

Bill and his wife Shannon live in Ventura, California with their twin sons. Bill is available for lecture, as well as TV and radio programs. You can see some of his art and view some of the videos at www.angelduststudios.com

Photographs by- Good Glass Photos

and Bill & Shannon Jeralds