Laura D: The Fall and Rise of a Homeless Artist Mickey Z.

[Tace]

Laura D teaching watercolors at a homeless shelter (Courtesy of Laura D)

Mickey Z. -- World News Trust
June 30, 2020

“The only place I felt I did anything right was art class.”

Those are the words of Laura D. She and I crossed paths when she was homeless and panhandling near Bryant Park. I was out, making my rounds, in service of the one-man project to help homeless women I had started in October 2016.

“I began noticing and loving color at a very young age. My father was a chemist who made and sold pigments for a living. So, color made up my whole world. There were charts and test pigments all over the home I grew up in. As I got a little older -- maybe 5 or 6 -- my father and I would create stories together. He would write a sentence or two on a piece of notebook paper and I would illustrate it.” (Laura D)

My project -- Helping Homeless Women-NYC -- began with me creating packs of clothes, supplies, and food. I’d travel all around midtown Manhattan to hand them out. I learned a lot in the process. As I earned the homeless women’s trust and they began to guide me on how to really help, the project took on a life of its own. For example, when I first met Laura D, she quickly explained to me how to be more effective when it came to giving out underwear.

“At school, I was singled out for being strange/slow/odd. Kids can be very unforgiving. The only place I felt I did anything right was art class. My father noticed and started to sign me up for anything I wanted to learn, artist book-making, found-object sculpture, figure drawing, oils, etc. At 12 years old, I took my first watercolor class.” (Laura D)

I grew overzealous and lugged around so much stuff that I caused long-term problems for my feet (still going on). This painful reality, combined with the lessons I learned from Laura and others, led to changes. Eventually, I switched to giving out gift cards for local restaurants, coffee shops, and discount stores. This empowered the women to buy exactly what they wanted, when they wanted it. They’d also gain access to a clean bathroom and get a temporary respite from the streets. It was a chance, some would tell me, to fit in and feel like everyone else for a little while.

(more)

https://worldnewstrust.com/laura-d-the-fall-and-rise-of-a-homeless-artist-mickey-z