WAVELAND, Miss. (WLOX) — Despite being given months to live, Lucian Pedron is using his creativity and a second chance to shape what’s possible.
Pedron is busy carving an old pecan tree into a dolphin. The work reflects what’s been a broken path.
“I try to think of how the good Lord has created things, and I’m asking him to help me,” said Pedron. “I just stay prayed up and keep rocking with it.”
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Art has always provided an escape for Pedron. He especially needed a reset roughly 10 years ago when he was serving time behind bars at the Hancock County Jail. The trustee program turned out to be a life-changing experience for him.
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The Waveland fire station needed some touch-up paint that turned into a mural in the firefighters’ lounge. The painting is an exact depiction of the department’s ladder truck in the station.
“The fact that he wanted to come in here and do something for us, even though he was going through his own hardships, that means a lot to us,” said Waveland Fire Department Lt. Timothy Burchett. “For him to do that while he was going through the hard stuff he was doing, that’s got to make you feel good.”
The mural’s details are precise down to the treeline at the back of the truck.
“I would watch Bob Ross on TV, so those are my little Bob Ross trees,” said Pedron.
Pedron also painted the fire department’s seal and the Firefighter’s Prayer.
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“I love that prayer. I believe it was 98 letters in that prayer, and I did that in one night.”
He painted murals inside the jail as well. Pedron is thankful today for the firefighters and law enforcement workers who supported him.
“Those guys, they really helped me. They turned my life around.”
However, despite overcoming drug addiction and a cycle of crime, Pedron now faces the fight of his life.
“I got sick, man.”
Pedron has been diagnosed with liver failure. Doctors gave him a timeline that he’s already outlasted.
“I’m actually about eight months past what I was going to make it.”
Like when he was in jail, Pedron is using art to lift his spirits.
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“I said, ‘Man, I’ve got to get up and do something.’”
He’s hoping the dolphin he’s created and his story can catch the attention of his favorite musician.
“I would like to reach out to Kid Rock to see if he would buy this thing,” said Pedron. “If Kid Rock wants it, he can have it. It would be nice if he would help a brother out.”
While he’s been working on the dolphin and other art, Pedron’s 8-year-old daughter Isabel has been watching. He believes his talent will live on with her.
“The whole time I’m painting, she has her easel, and I’m teaching her.”
Pedron needs a liver transplant. He doesn’t know how much time he has left, but whatever comes next, faith is guiding him.
“Don’t put your fear in nothing else but God.”
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The dolphin is the first one Pedron has carved. When he finishes it, he plans to start another.
For more information on Pedron’s artwork, you can call him at 505-597-1264.
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