Chapter 1: Travel with Grace

My background as a creative myself... I find that not only does painting help with my mental health, but I communicate and connect with others through my art. Love.Breathe.Art stands for balance. I started Love.Breathe.Art because of my mother and how hard she worked to keep me and my sister in band, choir, show choir, and drill team. Her sacrifice is what birthed Love.Breathe.Art and the mission of this program. We believe that kids need art; it can provide a very natural and safe way for children and teens to express themselves. Through the creative process, a person experiences a sense of pride, validation, and accomplishment. Art also provides a space to help a person counteract feelings of helplessness that are often associated with depression. At Love.Breathe.Art, we believe in the empowerment of art in all forms. Through our community initiatives, we aim to provide art supplies to those kids in need or to schools and/or organizations to help supplement those youth who would otherwise not be able to follow their dreams. We're super excited to expand on this by introducing Travel with Grace. Travel with Grace is a program under Love.Breathe.Art that provides travel domestically and internationally for students who may otherwise not be able to visit places outside of their community. Traveling exposes kids to different cultures and different ways of thinking, but more importantly, introducing travel is an eye-opening experience that allows us to gain a fresh outlook and draw on new cultures and surroundings to push ourselves and our art practices. My passion is not only for painting but also for what LBA and Travel with Grace can do for our youth. Students who participate in a field trip to an art museum or through travel demonstrate increased empathy, tolerance, and critical thinking skills. Exposing young minds to diverse artistic expressions not only fosters creativity but also cultivates a deeper understanding and appreciation for different perspectives and cultures. Through LBA and Travel with Grace, we strive to ignite a lifelong love for art and a curiosity about the world around us.