PORTLAND, Ore. – To get through painful comedowns following highs, the heroin addict draws – bright colors and strong lines with a sure hand, creating beautiful surrealist images.
He’s about 50 and has lived on the street for a long time. His drawings are being stored with scores of others, some dating back decades, in a Sisters of the Road storage space in Northwest Portland.
“Imagine a person, hurting enough to be an addict, reaching inside to extract such beauty from himself,” mused Brenda Morgan, development co-manager for Sisters of the Road, as she examined one of his pieces.
He’s still on the street, still struggling with addiction. But the art supplies Sisters and other organizations have long provided are an escape for him and others living on the street. Soon some of their art will be on display, during the organization’s first Journeys Art Festival in May.
“Art is healing for folks,” says