FUNDRAISER CLOSED
Acrylic Alchemy
Artwork by Rebecca Kovick
This recent fundraiser raised $1,000 to help women and children experiencing homelessness. Throughout the fundraiser, Rebecca continued to add new paintings to her initial donation. Paintings remaining after the fundraiser closed are being given to guests when they move out of our home to set up their own.
Rebeca Kovick says she “painted herself sober” over a period of 5 years after 30 years of addiction
“You can’t go back and change the beginning but you can start where you are and change the ending.”
– C.S. Lewis
Rebecca Kovick is currently a student intern at Mustard Seed Shelter, completing her Masters in Social Work at Saginaw Valley State University. A recovering alcoholic who found healing and sobriety in her own life through art therapy, Rebecca has been sharing her talent with our guests as part of her internship. Says Rebecca: “I believe in helping the ladies see their daily strengths and making art that can validate, challenge, reframe and heal the pain.
“I have learned at Mustard Seed that a person’s most painful conditions can serve as a launching pad for their best days ahead – even if they have no idea what that would look like. I am there to remind them in my caring interactions. I believe that each person is an artist and capable of expressive art in some fashion. I tell them all that they can do it. They just have to go slow and relax and let the process work in different parts of the brain. Art creates signals in another part of the brain that talk therapy, for some, cannot reach. The guests (at Mustard Seed) are apprehensive at the beginning of an art activity but are pleasantly surprised at the end … happy at how good their work turned out … kind of like how life is.”
Rebecca donated more than 20 of her gorgeous abstract acrylic paintings to help raise funds to support life-saving services for women and children experiencing homelessness. Each canvas is totally unique and makes a wonderful gift for someone or a statement piece in your own home.
The process
Rebecca says: “I use a Floetrol base combined with the most vibrant acrylic paints I can find. Sometimes, I use Saran wrap, baby wipes, blow dryers and straws to get some of the effects I desire. I rarely name my paintings. I think giving my work a title takes away from an observer’s conclusions. They can see infinite possibilities on that canvas.
“These paintings pulled me from a deep, dark place getting help for my own substance use disorder – alcohol. I feel restored and well. And I feel very blessed to have the privilege and opportunity at Mustard Seed Shelter. Why not give the beauty to others that God so lovingly and generously gave to me?”
Rebecca’s work has been displayed at:
- Red Eye and Dawn of a New Day coffee houses in Saginaw
- Harvest coffee house in Frankenmuth
- Creative 360 in Midland
- Andersen Enrichment Center in Saginaw
You can also find Kovick Acrylic Alchemy on Instagram and Facebook.
