Page 5 - USM_MembershipBooklet

They sanded that desk down and made it look new, but naked. Well, Michelle is not a black and white person or brown in this case. She’s more of a “the more color the better, happy little cloud” type.
Michelle wanted color and lots
of it. The folks refused to paint real wood. Everyone started coming
up with ideas to get the color they desired. Everything from beet juice to powdered juice mix were tried. These things worked OK, but what no one expected was the way the lights came back on in the eyes of men at the center. Michelle noticed and began a mission to get everyone’s lights back on. She brought more roadside jewels and got more men and women working on these fun projects. The more projects they completed, the more alive people became. People who once sat in the corner watching the walls all day were wanting in on the action.
though Michelle tried taping them to his hands. She found he could use the side of his hand to manipulate the stains into fun patterns.
With this information, arose the need for something non toxic and safe for the skin. Back to the lab again. Through several rounds of trial and error, Michelle finally figured out a vibrantly colorful stain that worked, was safe to be used on the skin, smelled like jasmine and helped the beautiful men and women find a part of themselves they’d seemingly lost. This sparked
the desire for art therapy inducing physical therapy, as well. Many unique techniques were also formed to help her folks use their ABILITIES to create very unique abstract art!
Michelle found that people of all ages benefited from playing with the yet unnamed product. From Michelle’s oldest son John, who has ADHD,
to her friend’s son Joe, with autism, men and women with dementia and Alzheimers, to an 80+ year old man whose hands didn’t work - everyone’s light came on. What a happy little miracle! Michelle’s heart and passion to see that look on faces became front and center.
Michelle continued working at
the facility until 2013 when federal budget cuts forced the center to shut down. This didn’t detract her from her mission. Now her love for refinishing furniture became a means to survive and feed her boys. She worked tirelessly to knock out and refinish
as much as she could, perfecting her colorful stain, glaze and paint combo in the process.
One man who still stands out above all the others is Mr. Johnny Boone. Mr. Boone had severe multiple sclerosis and couldn’t hold a paint brush, even