"This place saved my life"

My last time at the Art Experience was very eye opening.  I continued to work on stuffing envelopes for the auction coming up and visited with others.  The more I come to the studio, the more I feel comfortable; it has a very calming and peaceful atmosphere.  This place doesn't judge, yet embraces....everyone and everything.  It is a place to express freely, any idea or song or poem.  

I was greeted by James; who had promised to show me his CD he had made.  We listened to it quietly while others around us continued creating their art.  I also brought in a painting of my own to hang up in the studio for the show that weekend, which I couldn't have been happier about.  I haven't really had the opportunity to share my art with others so I was very excited and painted the sides of the canvas to make it look more professional. James insisted on picking out the color and said since my painting has a lot of blues and greens that I should paint the edges a mixture of both colors and I agreed.  As I painted, he asked me why I make art and what I want to do with it. I told him I want to help people through making art.  He began to ask me about my spirituality and told me that there are good and bad people in the world and if one trusts in the Lord, he will always be safe.  

This got me thinking about the loss of my spirituality the last couple of years and I decided that since this is a difficult time in my life where everything is changing, I may want to take his advice and confide in the Lord more often because maybe he can help me.  My family has always been religious, especially my mom but once I left for college, I didn't really go to church anymore or pray as often.  James said that you don't need to go to church to be a believer, you just have to live through the Lord.  I decided that I will try harder to pray and ask God for help in difficult times instead of stressing so much about things I can't control, it's not healthy.

I also met Carrie, a woman who comes into the studio often and once we began talking, we realized we had a lot in common.  "Bean" as they call her, actually graduated from my high school in 06, one year before me. We talked about people we both knew and things we do for fun as she sat and painted her peacock.  She told me the last few years have been rough for her, she lost some good friends and it made her sad.  She said that The Art Experience saved her life and she's never been happier since she started coming here.    She said that people here don't judge her and she has the freedom to express herself however she'd like.  She also talked about a group she joined a couple years ago and some of the projects they did together.  Hearing all of this made me realize how much good art can really bring people. It is a means of coping with any issue and it is easier to relate to others when everyone can just get together and make art.  I wish more people realized just how important expressing ourselves is and I was so happy to hear that The Art Experience has changed Bean's life and continues to every day.