Over the past 4 weeks, MSS Art staff have been busy “meeting up” with MSS Artists over the phone, on Zoom, and other virtual platforms. In March, MSS staff delivered art supplies to 20 MSS Artists and have weekly meeting times with those artists who are exploring art as employment.

During these weekly meetings, artists share what they’ve been up to, holding up their sketchbooks, paintings, and sheets of paper to their computer cameras.

Lauren Hughes, Director of Arts Development for MSS, said, “We talk about the materials they’re using and different ways they could be utilized. With some of the more tech savvy artists, we share video tutorials about different art mediums and techniques like drawing, hand drawn lettering, pet portraits, and how to take better photos of your art with a smartphone.”

“We hope these meetings provide continued connection with MSS and the creative arts. All of the artists have expressed a strong desire to come back to MSS and return to their studios!” said Hughes.

Jessica W., one of the MSS Artists, shared her excitement to be back in the studios at MSS. “I love to go to MSS. I go Monday – Thursday. I love to do art there. I’ve always done art, like drawing and stuff. When I go to MSS it’s like they totally unleashed this creative bug in me that just made me want to learn and try different methods. They encouraged me the whole way.”