It's is not too late to purchase your ticket for the second annual FUNdraiser of the Bread of Life, Inc. for our therapeutic art and empowerment project, The Art Project, Houston!

Prescription: Paint 2012 is an interactive paint party FUNdraiser to support the work of the Bread of Life, Inc. to facilitate the mental healing and transition of men and women of the homeless community in Houston. 

Come dressed to create and leave with your very own masterpiece! 

Saturday, October 13
11am-2pm 
Knowles-Rowland Center for Youth
St. John's Downtown
2019 Crawford Street
Houston, Texas 77002
Sponsorship Opportunities are Still Available
Individual Tickets: $100
Event Chair: Anita Smith

I met Ms. Carolyn my first week at the Bread of Life, walking along Gray St. from one building to another.  She was standing beside one of the buildings with her bags and her morning cup of coffee she gets at the church. The new kid on the block, I raised my morning cup of freshly brewed coffee from a local coffee shop and introduced myself. She was gracious, quiet and did not say more than, "Ok. Ok," with a little giggle and a smile that articulated surprise by my audacity that morning. 

There was a light in her that leaked through the layers of heaviness and depression in her life. I don't remember much from that day or first week with The Art Project, Houston, but since then Ms. Carolyn has been a constant in my life and the life of The Art Project, Houston. Over the past year and a half, I have gotten to know and work closely with Ms. Carolyn. We've shared some of our stories with each other, and she has given me permission to share some of her stories on this blog.

Ms. Carolyn started living on the streets of Houston more than 10 years ago. She learned of the Bread of Life during a worship experience at St. John's Downtown. There was an announcement about the services offered everyday, so she decided to check them out. Now the Bread of Life is her community. When we first started inviting men and women receiving shelter at the Bread of Life to participate in The Art Project, Houston back in April of 2011, I must have asked Ms. Carolyn once every week, to which I received a very kind and little giggle, "No, I don't think so."  She continued her daily routine without interruption, watching the project develop and getting to know me better.

In August 2011 we hosted an art show of work by the first participants of The Art Project, Houston. Our first audience were the men and women staying at the Bread of Life's After Dark Shelter. Ms. Carolyn came to see the art and drink a free cup of coffee. During the show I learned that she is a self proclaimed "artist by nature" and she was very much at home in the room filled with art. One of my colleagues told her she should join the next art class and without hesitation she said, "Ok. You can sign me up." 

So in August 2011 Ms. Carolyn became a participant of The Art Project, Houston. Since our first encounter, I have been privileged to see the external and internal transformation happening in her life as she has opportunities to tap into her creative spirit within and participate in something life-giving in the midst of a reality that is life-draining and hard.  She recently shared in an interview that living on the streets, 

"is not convenient. I can't get to what I want to get to living on the streets physically. The environment--we are not in a rich environment; we are in a poor environment and The Art Project keeps us from being depressed about other things. Some of us may not have enough to go to McDonald's every day, and I am used to that. (smile) Art kind of helps, you know, I feel a little better doing something. I don't feel so depressed because I don't have enough Federal Notes to go to McDonald's. It's pretty much that, you know, it helps me from getting so depressed."

Carolyn's story is her own, but she is not the only one who knows this to be true. As I manage The Art Project, Houston, encountering lives like Carolyn and the numerous others who receive the invitation to participate; I am inspired, encouraged and empowered to reach my full potential. Every time I am able to get out of the office and sit at the art table with the men and women we serve, I believe more and more that just as we hunger for bread and thirst for water, we hunger for beauty and have a need to create. We all have a need to tap into the creative capability within and be affirmed as good. There is power in affirmation. There is mental and emotional power in creative expression.

There was a time Ms. Carolyn and I could not hold a conversation about the possibility of her living in an apartment, but a few months ago she asked me to check into some housing options for her to consider.  For months the only art Ms. Carolyn would do was sing, stamp John 13:16 in her scrapbook and prayerfully package the TAPH Art Cards, but now she creates pottery and other simple art pieces with paper. There was a day when Ms. Carolyn would not join The Art Project class for our field trips, and last month she joined our trip to the Houston Center for Contemporary Crafts and Lawndale Art Center. She enjoyed herself and added so much to
the experience.

The Layers of heaviness, depression and mental blocks that have hindered Ms. Carolyn from thinking past the moment she is in, have been falling off. Every day her light gets brighter and brighter as she creates, opens herself up to new experiences, is surrounded by an affirming team and begins to imagine new possibilities for her life. 
Ms. Carolyn shines, and it is beautiful.

As a volunteer and visiting guest artist at The Art Project, Houston, I was blessed with the experience of Life, Love, Belief, Prayer, and Faith!  These are more than just mere actions or words to the people of The Art Project they are a ministry of words and actions that call, push, and urge us to take a journey. Regardless of if we are seeking a corporate journey or a more personal spiritual path.  As I witnessed people entering into this area of art and wonder, I knew without a doubt, I was in the company of Christians that cared and loved deeply for those around them and for the art that they strived to create.

One of my professors at seminary, Dr. Dwight Judy writes, “Wherever there is an act of creation,
there is God.  God is a universal and eternal process of creating and sustaining the universe and every created
entity.”[1] hat is what I witnessed at The Art Project, Houston, a place where God is seenand experience in the act of creation!

 [1] Judy,
Dwight H. Quest for the Mystical Christ: Awaking the Heart of Faith, Akron, Ohio: OSL Publications, 2003, 51.

“Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul” - Plato

The Art Project, Houston (TAPH) a project of the Bread of Life, Inc. provides a diversity of opportunities throughout the week for the men and women we serve through the After Dark Shelter to encounter art and tap into their creativity.

We believe that in these encounters people receive healing, joy and are empowered in ways that only creating and being supported in community can bring. Everyone deserves access to the beauty, inspiration and life that interacting with great art can bring, and we are dedicated to providing these encounters for the men and women we serve.

Thursday, September 27, at 6:30 pm, to celebrate the opening of there 25th Anniversary Season, Da Camera of Houston, led by Artistic and General Director, Sarah Rothenberg will brought a free performance to the men and women we serve at The Bread of Life. Sarah led the ensemble made up of three generations of artists, including an artist who performed on Da Camera's first season and several of his current and former students. 

They performed J.S. Bach's Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, BWV 1052.  This was a great introduction to classical music for any listener, as well as a wonderful concert for classical music lovers.  In appreciation of the work that the Bread of Life does for the city of Houston, the musicians agreed to donate their services for this performance. 

It was a beautiful!  Over 100 men and women being served dinner by the Bread of Life filled the sanctuary of St. John's Downtown for the concert. The concert was a total of 20-minutes and after each piece the community affirmed the art and asked for an "encoure!"  Throughout the show you could feel a since of peace and aliveness with each beautiful note played.  The music was soothing and offered hope, as Da Camera of Houston offered our community their best.  

Below are a few quotes from attendees as they exited the concert:

"I have always wanted to go to a symphony. Ever since I was a kid. There is probably nothing like being in a symphony hall, but it was so good to finally hear some of a symphony." 

"Thank you. That was really nice, really nice."  (big smile on her face)

"Thank you. That was off the hook! It was medicine. Thank you."

We exist within the Bread of Life, Inc. to provide art encounters and experiences that facilitate the mental healing and empowerment of men and women of the downtown Houston homeless community. We are thankful for artists and organizations in the community who join us in living out this mission.  We hope, with Da Camera of Houston, that last night was the first collaboration of many.

Text "BELIEVE" to 50555 to join The Art Project, Houston Mobile Community

It is FREE and you will not get SPAM messages from us.

You will receive no more than 3 text messages a month through the MGIVE Service sharing :

*Volunteer Opportunities
*Special Opportunities for YOU to tap into your creativity
*Exhibitions, Art Shows and Special Events of The Art Project, Houston Announcements
*Opportunities to Give and Donate
*Success Stories to Celebrate

The Art Project, Houston a project of the Bread of Life, Inc., is not just the work of a few people.

It is a community. 

It is only through you BELIEVING that The Art Project, Houston can heal and empower lives that we are creating opportunities for men and women who are homeless, marginalized and desiring a new reality to experience what we BELIEVE art can offer people of all ages and walks of life.

Text "BELIEVE" to 50555 TODAY. 

Together WE will make a difference!