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Brush With the Law

Brush With the Law uses the visual arts in community-based beautification projects throughout the Philadelphia metropolitan area with a focus on Montgomery County. Projects are led by professional artists who create together with socially marginalized people (such as the incarcerated, parolees/probation, at-risk youth, and those struggling with addiction) to create public art. The purpose is to inspire meaningful changes in participants’ self-esteem and provide new skills that can lead to better employment opportunities, while enabling local communities to work with and come to better understand the challenges of these populations. Brush with the Law seeks to help socially marginalized individuals reconnect with the community through collaborative creative art projects. We believe that by working on projects that serve the community, marginalized individuals and community members start to understand and recognize one another as human beings.

Brush With the Law
This is Part I - a short tutorial on how to make paper beads. It does not include how to glaze the beads once rolled. Part II on glazing and drying will be uploaded soon.
Cody Stuhltrager , a recently released prisoner of SCI-Phoenix (formerly Graterford) who spent 20 years incarcerated, sent this video as a gift to BWTL director, Maria Maneos . Maria and Cody met about 5 years ago while she was teaching art at SCI-Graterford. The song, "Watching the Wheels" by John Lennon, is something she referenced several times over the years, during class or while having Zoom meetings together. Her love for the song stems from a lyric line with a direct reference to Plato's Allegory of the Cave. When I tell ‘em that I'm doin’ fine WATCHING SHADOWS ON THE WALL Don't you miss the big time boy You’re no longer on the ball… 🎼 🎼 🎼 🎼 🎼 🎼 🎼 The shadows on the cave wall represent what we perceive, and the allegory suggests that truth is beyond what we perceive. It is the idea that reality is not what we individually see, observe, or measure … but what we can comprehend in some collective, unified way. What is extremely interesting and profound — aside from Cody’s playing and singing — is the newfound meaning imbued by Cody’s experience: After 20 years in prison, after 20 years of relative ignorance of the larger world, his redemption, his bliss, and the discovery of a new self render him no longer a shadow on a wall. Cody obtained his Bachelor of Arts from Villanova University while incarcerated. He was released December 7th, 2021.
5,535 clear glassine baggies have been stuffed with a one-inch crystal bead to represent each person who lost their battle to heroin/opiate addiction in Pennsylvania alone in 2017. Each of these crystal-filled baggies have been strung onto various lengths of monofilament (30# Fishing Line) and gently dangle from above. The artist, Maria Maneos and various participants including: those who are in recovery from addiction, some who are in active addiction, friends and family of those who have lost a loved one to this disease, people who have been assigned to her nonprofit program titled- Brush with the Law – with community service hours to fulfill in Montgomery County, PA due to dui’s or other crimes that are associated with addiction, and high school students from the Ambler, PA area have all worked together on stuffing the baggies with the crystal beads and then stringing all of the baggies onto the various lines of monofilament to create this beautifully, horrific sculpture to illuminate and bring awareness to this epidemic affecting so many around the nation. It's one thing to hear the numbers, but a whole other experience to see them.
Pennsylvania Art fo the State Winner Maria Maneos for the sculpture chandelier titled 5535-2017. The number 5535 is the amount of people who died from heroin overdoses in PA during the year of 2017. There is a crystal bead stuffed into 5535 glassine baggies that were strung onto monofilament and hung from the ceiling to display a beautiful looking crystal sculpture that seemed like a rainfall of light, it wasn't till one understood what the sculpture stood for that it became captivating.
TERMINAL is a song written about Death by Incarceration (DBI) or also known as Life Without Parole. Pennsylvania, where these two inmates, Cody Stuhltrager and Robert LaBarr who wrote this song are housed, is a state that enforces sentences of life without parole or death by incarceration. This is a short preview of the song and video. Please like and share if you can... The video is being developed by Brush With the Law artist and director, Maria Maneos. TERMINAL By: Robert LaBarr and Cody Stuhltrager (inmates at SCI Phoenix - aka Graterford) Sung by artist Andrew Lipke of Philadelphia, Pa Video being created by BWTL director and artist Maria Maneos ***Facebook automatically trims video longer than 1minute, so 26 seconds of the video is missing... it’s also on our Instagram page with the ending intact 👍🏼👌🏼 Beginning lyrics: Get up when you fall, that’s what they always told me destructive patterns drawn, got caught up in the fold blind and reckless paths, fusses burning slowly destined for a crash, mourning and confusion I wish these wounds would heal But it’s terminal, a spiraling distress, a never answered why? terminal, it’s one life laid to rest and another cast aside it’s the end of the line
Adding guarded edge for puring resin onto mosaic table top
old table headed to landfill upcycled with beautiful glass, tiles and resin by brush with the law artists and community service volunteers
Brush With the Law had the opportunity to connect with the Peer Support Recovery Ministry program @newhanoverlutheranchurch @nhelchurch around beautifying their exterior walls. This past Saturday the event was led by the Director of the Peer Support Recovery Ministry who is also a Brush With the Law board member, Ryan Schweiger. The Peer Support Recovery Ministry staff and participants helped with the designing, planning and the making of a nonpermanent mural using chalk and pastels with two local recovery houses from the Pottstown area - men from @rightdirectionliving and women from @anotherdayclean . The food ministry of the church provided the group with lunch and refreshments. Also want to thank and give a shout out to @Rick Scott @rickdarula007 for taking drone video and photo footage of the making process. BWTL was happy to facilitate and be part of this super fun recovery community building activity of about 15 participants. Thanks NHELC neighbors for being a vessel of change in the Gilbertsville and surrounding communities! #recovery #faith # art #feedthehungry #buildingcommunity #chalkart #muralart #gilbertsville #pottstown # boyertown #limerick #montgomerycountypa If you or an organization would like to do something like this or maybe you have something else in mind entirely and would like BWTL to be a part of please contact the director of the program, Maria Maneos brushthelaw@gmail.com www.brushwiththelaw.org If someone is in need of peer recovery support in the Gilbertsville surrounding area contact: peersupport@newhanoverlutheran.org http://www.newhanoverlutheran.org/peersupportministry.php If you or someone you know is in need of recovery housing in the Pottstown surrounding area please visit: Another Day clean http://www.anotherdayclean.com/ Right Direction Living (RDL) https://www.facebook.com/Rightdirectionliving/
Family play room dedicated to female inmates at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Eagleville, PA. It is a safe environment for children to visit with their incarcerated loved ones.
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Brush With the Law - Community Service Arts is in Pennsylvania.

3 days ago

Brush With the Law - Community Service Arts
Sun catchers or beaded 👑 crown?Either way we think they’re simply beautiful. Like 👍 or no like👎?This is what we are making with @mmaneos during our online and live in-person classes at HopeWorx in Norristown, Pennsylvania Follow Brush With the Law - Community Service Arts for more ideas and events. Contact or comment if you’d like information or the Zoom link to our classes.#beadit #funwithbeads #buildingcommunity ... See MoreSee Less

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Brush With the Law - Community Service Arts

1 week ago

Brush With the Law - Community Service Arts
We make beaded safety pins 🧷 as a #communityservice project and then hand them out in the community as a #socialmovement to help promote connectedness. For the past few years volunteers and people from the community together with artists from Brush With the Law - Community Service Arts have been beading safety pins and giving them out as a way to promote safe connections. On April 14th we will be giving some of these handmade beaded pins out together with HopeWorx and AdvocacyWorx as a way to be part of the Montgomery County, PA Clerk of Courts Second Chance Month Resource Fair (see flyer in our story - or in comments below) 🥑🧜🏼‍♀️🇯🇲❌✝️🫦💄❤️*Emojis above show an avocado, mermaid, Jamaican flag, red x, cross on purple background, lips, lipstick, and a red heart. #beadedkeychains ... See MoreSee Less

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Brush With the Law - Community Service Arts is with Maria Maneos and Penn Foundation at Penn Foundation.

1 month ago

Brush With the Law - Community Service Arts
Check out this framed artwork BWTL board member, Ryan Schweiger (see info below) made. He cut out our initials - BWTL - from some of the leftover pieces of the mural (on polytab cloth)we painted back in 2019 at Penn Foundation’s Village of Hope. Brush With the Law worked along with Penn Foundation clients, residents, community group partners, and staff on an exterior mural of brain neurons (responsible for releasing dopamine) on the stairwell of the Village of Hope women’s residence located on the Penn Foundation campus. Ryan led this mural project from the start by getting the necessary permissions to make it happen. *** Ryan Schweiger, CRS, CPS, CPRP, St. Luke’s Penn Foundation (SLPF) behavioral health community liaison specialist, named by Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie to the seven-person Bucks County Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee. Commissioner Harvie selected members of the Bucks County community who have backgrounds in human services, substance abuse prevention, and public safety.There’s also a signature of Ryan Leaf, former NFL quarterback for the San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys He signed the mural when he came to Penn Foundation to give an inspirational talk on addiction. (See 5th pic) try and find the signature if you’re ever in the Sellersville area or at the facility. The Village of Hope is a temporary housing program for homeless adults in Bucks County who have been diagnosed with both a mental health and substance abuse disorder. The goal of the program is to provide a supportive, recovery-oriented environment for those who voluntarily wish to recover from substance abuse and mental health. Thanks for the beautiful framed art, Ryan. We love it!! ... See MoreSee Less

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Brush With the Law - Community Service Arts is at HopeWorx.

1 month ago

Brush With the Law - Community Service Arts
Who can deny ancient Greek 🏛️mythology stories are anything short of pure genius? 🏺On Thursday, March 9, 2023, we will read our first mythology story together as a group/community as part of our monthly series of art workshops (see flyer in last image - 👉Swipe to see flyer)Please help us choose a mythology📖 story to read and discuss. After the reading, we will visually interpret our thoughts on paper or canvas. We will also discuss and question some of the moral lessons in the story. Classes are held live every Thursday in March at HopeWorx or via zoom with the link given thru registration on Eventbrite. (SEE FLYER in Photos for address and Eventbrite link info. Or see comments for link to Eventbrite) Classes are free, but supplies are limited.Greek mythology offers valuable life lessons. The poets/writers of the #mythology stories do not need advocates or perfect academic readers; they need listeners who love a good story for its own sake and who can believe that if #JesusofNazareth can resurrect the dead and turn water 💦 to wine 🍷, Apollon of Delphoi can change into a dolphin🐬 and, much like St. George, slay the dragon 🐉 if he so wishes. By studying these stories, we better understand human nature and how to navigate life's challenges.Greek Mythology's most famous tales #narcissusandecho#prometheus and the Theft of Fire #pandorasbox The Abduction of #Persephone by #Hades #Theseus and the #Minotaur. #medusa 💠We plan to continue this class and venture into Celtic and other ancient mythology stories in the future.ευχαριστώ THANK YOU ... See MoreSee Less

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Brush With the Law - Community Service Arts

2 months ago

Brush With the Law - Community Service Arts
Great video compilation of the work we did last summer ‘22’ with Expressive Path along the bike path near the #trailjunctioncenter in Norristown, Pennsylvania around the intersection of Lafayette and Dekalb Pike behind the Trail Junction Center . Love it!If anyone is interested in public /community art somewhere in your municipality or neighborhood get in touch with us Brush With the Law - Community Service Arts or Expressive Path or HopeWorx to start the conversation. 🏹 Thanks Pamela Martin and the gang at Expressive Path for producing this video ♥️ We had so much fun making this art with you. ... See MoreSee Less

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