A shy woman pokes her head in the door, and says, “I saw a flyer at the shelter?”

“That’s great, come in!” I replied.

“But I’m not an artist.”

“If you came here today, and you create something, then you’re an artist.”

This was the exchange with our first artist to join the open studio session of The Street Studio.  She wasn’t sure she belonged there, but she sat down with a cup of coffee, sketchpad and charcoal pencils, and immediately began to work.  She asked a few questions about shading and highlighting, and after an hour or so she had enough confidence to venture into painting her creation.  The longer she worked, the wider her smile grew.  When open studio was over, she sat there with her flower painting in her hands, and said, “That was fun!”

Those three words made The Street Studio a smashing success!  Our mission is for people to see themselves as artists, to realize their God-given talents and identities, and to live in that truth.  Last Saturday that was the realization for one woman.  For a few hours she had the opportunity to forget that she’d spent the night before in a homeless shelter, and she simply sat around a table with friends listening to music, having coffee, and sharing paint.

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