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By: Erin Smith
A group of Bladen County residents have been getting together and sharing their love of painting on Sunday afternoons at the Bladenboro Historical Society Building. The event, called Paint and Praise, is hosted by the ministry team of Isaiah 6:8 of First Baptist Church in Bladenboro.
“The fundraiser part of it came about last year,” said Tiffany Young, one of the organizers for the event. The other organizers are Becky Spearman, Katherine White, Renee Davis and Jennifer Byrd.
Young explained the group began in 2011 as a young WMU group at the church. Young said the group began to want to do more in their community and began searching for a way to reach out.
“We decided to paint things,” said Young.
The group started out making wooden door hangers. Young said they would design patterns, cut out the figures or shapes, sand them, and pain them. She said the group took their creations to the Beast Festival from 2011 through 2015 where they raised $21,417 that was used for various projects and outreach ministries in the community.
Young said they added a cookbook to the mix and last year, the group began offering painting parties.
“We usually have them at the (Bladenboro) Historical Society Building,” said Young.
The group meets from 3 until 5:30 p.m. and is for ages 12 years old and older. The cost for the class is a $30 donation which covers the cost of the canvasses and all of the painting supplies. The profit from Paint and Praise goes towards purchasing winter coats, shoes and school uniforms for local students.
Young said folks can give spots in the classes as gifts to another person, if they choose to do so.
The way the classes work, there is a theme for the artwork and the students are given an inspiration page to two with a wide variety of ideas. The are also templates available to help those that are uncertain about their drawing skills. Young said you do not have to have any prior art class experience to take part in the classes.
“We’ve had some (take the class) who were very talented artists and we’ve had some for whom it was their first time painting anything,” said Young.
She added, “We love watching how excited and how happy and how good people feel.”
Young said the next Paint and Praise will take place in the fall once folks return from summer vacation.
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