When Prenda initially approached Silveria and Elizabeth Stone House in September 1999, Prenda hoped that art-making workshops would help the women at Elizabeth Stone House set aside some time for themselves. As an artist herself, Silveria has been an enthusiastic link between both Prenda and the women in residence and Prenda and the other Elizabeth Stone House administrators. Silveria helped Prenda to understand the changing nature of the transitional housing program. Women regularly enter and leave the program as their lives change. Women may have appointments or even a sick child to keep them from classes.
Some days are better than others for each woman.
If we had three women, great, seven, fabulous. There was no disappointment in small numbers. Each five-week series saw a rotation of women with a few regulars. Roxan McKinnon's indoor mural project was enhanced by the painting of almost every woman in the house, with some women, inspired by others, painting for just a few minutes on only one day. The most striking thing about making the mural is that every woman had a story, and our style of designing the mural allowed for that.