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Michael Ball poses next to his gift to New Bridge House. a heartfelt gesture of gratitude to the agency
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Michael Ball explained how he started painting in 2001. “I am bipolar and had experienced a six-year period of ‘highs’. During this time, I picked up a paintbrush and canvas to have something else to do at night besides watch TV.” Since then, this self-taught artist has been hooked. He said he bought a book about artists and their painting styles and found his passion.
The first time he encountered Interim, Inc., was in 2008. Mike was homeless. He was in the down cycle of his illness. His marriage was over, he had been asked to leave by his wife. Mike contacted MCHOME and Kontrena McPheter (who now heads Interim’s Success Over Stigma program based in the OMNI Wellness Center in Salinas) met with Mike and connected him with services. “I was one of the homeless artists that made the mosaic at Monterey Salinas Transit Center and Dorothy’s Kitchen in Salinas” he pointed out as he shared his portfolio. He is also part of the team who created the beautiful mosaic outside the Community Room at Interim’s Shelter Cove Transitional Housing in Marina.
After a while in the MCHOME program, Michael left the area. “I moved to Kentucky for a time. While I was there, I remembered the Interim Program back in Monterey County. I looked for a similar program where I was living and there wasn’t anything like it. So, I made my way back.” After arriving in Carmel and sleeping in alleyways and in parks, he again connected with Interim, Inc. and now is part of the Shelter Cove Transitional Housing Community.
The Shelter Cove program teaches individuals with mental illness how to live independently. Michael admits he was resistant when he first joined the community. He balked at the structure, which included things like assistance to make sure he took his medication properly, a time sheet to report his daily activities and the required group attendance. But as time passed, he came to understand how the structure has changed his life for the better. Michael has learned new life skills, and how to communicate with other people. He has gained support from Interim counselors and other residents, and he is able to provide support to others.
And Michael continues to paint— prolifically! His beautiful paintings are all over his apartment and his easel stands prominently in the dining room with works in progress of various sizes. With help from his doctor at Monterey County Behavioral Health, he declares “I have found a medication for bipolar disorder that doesn’t suppress my creative side like other medications I tried.”
Michael is donating one of his most striking works to Interim’s New Bridge House at Shelter Cove which is across the street from his apartment. The plein air style painting shows a road through a field with a white bridge crossing a creek; the road continues around a curve where the fog is coming up off the ocean. Michael says the painting is a meditation piece. “You can’t see what is around the corner, but the road continues after the bridge. Something I’ve learned is that when you start to across the bridge—even if you can’t see the other side—there will be someone from Interim who is working from the other side to help you finish the bridge and make it across.” In Michael’s case, he says the Bridge represents healing from his broken relationships, grieving the past, leaving it behind, and learning to live in the moment. “Make the commitment to do the work and healing will happen. Remember, you are not alone in building the Bridge.”
Wise words from a talented man whose life story adds weight to what he says. Thank you, Michael for sharing your talent with Interim, Inc., and for the generous gift of such a meaningful painting.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
