VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — This mural is a special one. It's located inside the Virginia Beach Housing Resource Center.
The artist hopes this mural will add happiness and light during a time that may be very dark for some of the residents.
"I experienced a bout of homelessness as a result of political persecution in South Africa. It was a very hard time. Lots of shame and no safe space," said abstract artist Mia Guile.
Mia Guile is no stranger to what the residents at the Virginia Beach Housing Resource Center are going through. She helped out the center by painting their new donor tree wall. She even got some help from some of the center's youngest residents.
"If you want abstract trees that are lively, that kind of come alive with color, that's me," said Guile.
Guile said the mission statement of the Resource Center is helping the homeless feel rooted and they want homelessness to be brief and temporary.
"Not to just sell paintings, but to be part of communities that can benefit from the joy of a piece of art," says Guile.
I asked how Guile would describe her painting style.
She said, "After the fact, I look, I sit with it and I'm doing a qualitative study, like a research project. And I look and I see colors, themes, ah, and I start making connections as to what that means to me and that's how my art kind of evolves. Every color that I see comes from some level of unconsciousness and every shape and every form that comes to fruition is also from the unconscious."
Guile wanted to leave everyone with her favorite quote from another abstract painter, Agnus Martin: "Art is the concrete representation of our most unsubtle feeling."
Guile will be adding names to the tree of the people and organizations who have donated to the Virginia Beach Housing Resource Center.
And just a note, if you are without a home or are in danger of losing your home, you can visit the center which is located at 104 North Witchduck Road in Virginia Beach.
The center is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, from 8 a.m. to noon for triage and assessment. You can also call the Regional Housing Crisis Hotline at (757) 227-5932.
