Delicious hot meals are not the only things cooking at Mother’s Cupboard community kitchen.
Local artist M.K. Watkins has been working on a mural in the pantry’s lobby since January. She shared the idea to spruce up the space about three years ago at the cupboard’s Christmas party.
“I told one of the board members that wall needed to be a fruit stand,” Watkins said. She then scribbled up a five-minute sketch of her vision. “If (the wall) looked more like a fruit stand, that’d be a lot more fun.”
Since the building is closed to visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic and food is being served through drive-up only, this seemed like a good time to get back to it.
When the building reopens and visitors step up to the pantry window, it will feel as though they’re at an outdoor market surrounded by blooming sunflowers, abundant fruits and vegetables sitting beneath a striped awning.
An author sees a blank page and wants to write. A musician wants to craft sound where there is silence. Watkins said that when an artist sees a blank canvas, they want to create something beautiful.
When she was given the go-ahead this past January, she was painting the walls every single day from 11 a.m to 3 p.m., before food was served to patrons.
Chef Sherry Houze is grateful for Watkins’ interest in doing the project and also her service to the pantry as a whole. Watkins has served at the pantry for seven years as a volunteer, cooking and serving meals once a month.
Houze hopes to have an open house once social distancing restrictions are lifted. “Her work is so extraordinary,” Houze said. “The mural fits right in with what we do.”
Watkins’ work has slowed significantly and she has not painted for nearly four weeks due to the coronavirus outbreak. However, she normally slows down near the end of a project anyway, she said.
“It’s been a real fun thing. … I always go slower at the end,” she said, “because I don’t want my good book to end.”
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Single mom Anna Hofstetter didn’t want to take her young kids to a store and had no one to watch them, so she put up a post on the Facebook page Brown County Barter asking if anyone had eggs or milk to share. In less than 24 hours, she had five dozen eggs and four gallons of milk on her porch. She had planned to trade for toilet paper, but most of the gifts arrived when she wasn’t looking, from anonymous people who asked for nothing in return. “It was amazing,” she said. “That’s the place where we live. That’s just what people do.” She said she plans to pay the favor forward.
A blood drive which the Nashville Masonic Lodge hosted the day before Easter was “what I would call a great success,” said member Kevin Snyder. They filled all their time slots and had five other people show up who didn’t sign up — three of whom they had to turn away because they were at maximum capacity for the day. The lodge might host another blood drive in June, he said.
Would you like to say “thanks” or recognize someone who showed kindness during the COVID-19 pandemic? Email [email protected] to share a Bright Spot.
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