Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind Finds a Home!

Behind the Artwork

Close-up detail of coy fish painting on Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind installation

We are honored to announce that Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind has found a permanent home at the newly renovated Montessori School in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The school entry wall was reinforced to house the 140 pound ArtPrize work. This fall, the students participated in one of our Healing in Arts workshops and created their own Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind piece that will also be displayed at the school. Both works serve as a reminder to paint our world orange with small acts of kindness.

Children creating interactive art projects in school workshops

Would you like to help create an environment or experience where students can learn and thrive?
Contact Healing in Arts now!

Our healing art involves you—because you matter!

Celebrating Healing in Arts!

Behind the Artwork

Healing in Arts

Though our creative roots started locally with a decade of ArtPrize experience, our art outreach has expanded from Grand Rapids to New York to Norfolk to Denver to San Francisco and beyond. With this expansion, we thought it was especially important to clarify what we do, since one of our own contractors—who works for us gratis—said, “I still don’t understand exactly what you do.” My response: “Umm, I think it’s time to clarify!”

For the last few months, Dr. Maria Fee, an artist and adjunct professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, has been helping to develop our nonprofit website that centers on art and healing. Defining, organizing, and communicating our mission has been a crazy amount of work. But Maria has wordsmithed every sentence with us. Her input has been amazing, and we’re so grateful for the end result. Here’s a small explanation that describes what we do:

Healing in Arts, our nonprofit organization, operates under New Horizons Foundation. Healing in Arts offers interactive and collaborative art opportunities for small groups and organizations. Through school workshops, community programs, and social justice art, we activate spaces where people become part of a healing canvas.

We would be remiss not to take this opportunity to thank the generous donors who sponsored this website expansion project. We are so grateful for and humbled by their support. But we also need you to join our team to enable us to cultivate our culture through interactive healing art. This therapeutic work touches children struggling with autism, teens coming out of sex trafficking, women growing in community, veterans struggling with PTSD, seniors adapting to change, and more. Be a part of our healing canvas. Support Healing in Arts now.

Children doing interactive art projects

Pamela has a very unique gift for connecting deeply with people through her artwork. There is something in her work that is deeply magnetic and brings out the vulnerability in all of us.

Randy, Healing in Arts supporter

Join Our Team!
We would be so grateful!

Creating Signature Pieces

Behind the Artwork

Historic veterans dormitory and collage painting

As an artist, I create inspiring signature pieces for the workplace or community spaces. These unique projects serve to welcome viewers into a healing place. The Cut Short commission entailed constructing the Cut Short Veterans Memorial Garden and creating the collage painting shown above. The 3 x 5 foot wooden flag was specifically crafted in a folk art style for the historic veterans dormitory built by Henry Ford in Canton, Michigan.

New Memorial Garden Honors Veterans

Behind the Artwork

Cut Short - memorial garden for veterans

Earlier this spring, while attending a memorial ceremony for fallen local soldiers, I heard one gold star mother say, “If my son were still alive, I would be a grandmother by now.” Her deep grief spoke of yesterday’s sorrow. As I listened to her heartache, the initial creative seeds for the Cut Short veterans memorial garden were planted.

Close-up of Cut Short project with plaquesThe installation, situated on the ground of the Village Arts Factory in Canton, Michigan, consists of twenty-one 6 x 6 inch white posts placed in lines like the white crosses of Arlington National Cemetery. The posts, however, are cut into various lengths representing those who served and those whose lives were “cut short.”

Cut Short provides a sacred place for families and friends to grieve. But the installation also offers a healing opportunity to honor a life of service by adding a silver plate with a loved one’s name and image. This site-specific installation collectively engages and invites visitors to embrace love, gratitude, and healing—whispering words of today’s hope.

Would you like to celebrate a life of service by adding a silver plaque to Cut Short memorial posts?

Get more information here…

Examples of plaques on Cut Short project

Igniting Courage

Behind the Artwork

Beauty - Part of the Courage Ablaze watercolor series

Jetta’s Story

One of my Congolese friends, whom I’ll call Jetta, is a true woman of courage. Her story, as well as the stories of several other refugees, inspired my work called Courage Ablaze. This vignette tells part of her amazing story of courage in the face of life-threatening situations:

Jetta and her children fled into Uganda as gunfire broke out near their home in the Democratic Republic of Congo. While trying to save the lives of her children, Jetta was separated from her husband for three years—not knowing if he had survived or died.

But as they fled, Jetta encountered soldiers from Rwanda raping the Congolese women. So Jetta took a detour. She put aside her own safety long enough to march into a commander’s office and give him this message: “Tell your soldiers to stop raping the women.”

Jetta’s story is an incredible story of courage. In the middle of war and chaos, she risked her life and her children’s safety because she cared about the abuse of other innocent women and children.

After meeting Jetta, I had to ask myself, “What would you do, Pamela? Would you care enough to risk your own safety to help others in need?”

Jetta’s courage brings to mind these ancient sacred words from the book of Proverbs: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed.” Jetta spoke up.

Jetta’s story inspired the Courage Ablaze exhibit.

Note: The name has been changed to protect identity.

Recovering from Sexual Abuse

Behind the Artwork

Wounded - Mixed media art and part of The Scarlet Cord installation

Tammy’s Story

Survivors often begin to experience healing when they finally acknowledge the sexual abuse. Over time, some even reach the point when they can let go of the guilt and shame. These first bold steps often end up sparking hope. This inspirational story occurred at The Scarlet Cord exhibit:

While I was raising awareness for sex trafficking at The Scarlet Cord, a young woman I call Tammy asked for one of the scarlet cords that we gave away to exhibit visitors. As I tied a cord on Tammy’s wrist, she burst into tears. The sexual abuse, she said, had lasted for years during her childhood.

“The shame and the guilt of your sexual abuse,” I said, “belongs to your perpetrators. The individuals who committed the crimes against you. The shame and the guilt doesn’t belong to you.”

Tammy’s perpetrator, a teacher, had told her that she had invited the abuse by being seductive. “His accusations are part of the abuse,” I explained. “Children don’t solicit sexual abuse; children are the victims.”

A month later, one of Tammy’s friends emailed me to thank me for reaching out to her. The friend wrote, “Ever since that night when we met at The Scarlet Cord, Tammy has been feeling encouraged.”

Tammy’s first bold steps for healing gave her a sense of new beginnings.

Find out more about The Scarlet Cord exhibit.

Note: The name and some details have been changed to protect identities.

Honoring a Local Hero

Behind the Artwork

Army Spc. Eric T. Burri’s Story

Pamela with Eric Burri's parents at the Hometown Hero unveilingDo life’s challenges make heroes or reveal heroes? Army Spc. Eric Burri was killed while serving in Iraq, but his parents, John and Joanne Burri, kept his memory alive by rallying an entire Midwest community to help Iraqi children. Eric’s life and his parents’ example of how to turn overwhelming grief into an opportunity to help others inspired my ArtPrize Top 20 work called Hometown Hero:

“Dad, I’m not afraid to die.”

Eric’s picture rests between two angel figurines. Another tiny photo of Eric with a small American flag hangs from the center of the kitchen curtain rod. His dad remembers when Eric announced with a smile, “Dad, I did it. I joined.” The next day he graduated from high school.

“The military taught Eric a lot,” said his dad. “Eric started understanding that life wasn’t just about him; it was about others too.” While deployed to Iraq, Eric noticed the Iraqi children who didn’t have shoes. He wrote home, “Mom, if I could, I would give them the shoes off my feet.”

His father continued, “In May of 2005, Eric came home for a short visit and took his sweetheart shopping to look at diamond rings. He only had five more months left to serve in Iraq. A few weeks later, on Tuesday, June 7, a roadside bomb exploded in Baghdad and killed Eric.

“To honor Eric’s love for the Iraqi children, we collected thousands of shoes and sent them to Iraq,” said his dad as he wiped away a tear.

For Eric and his parents, life’s most difficult challenges revealed their heroism.

Eric’s story inspired the Hometown Hero exhibit.