Amavida Coffee – Rosemary Beach is proud to host Perfection is a Moving Target, an art exhibit by Bailey Miller from October 8th – November 18th. 100% of proceeds from this exhibit will go to Nicole Paloma’s #Love_Sewn, which works to promote personal growth and sustainability both for homeless women and women recovering from addiction.
Mission:
Since beginning my journey into recovery in 2012, I have learned to face the world with a whole new perspective. I have had to re-discover how to do almost everything, in a different way. Some things were a struggle, and some things were much easier. Nonetheless, it has filled me with a sense of gratitude and acceptance that I never knew was possible. This sentiment has been the undertone of my artwork ever since.
A few months ago, I met Nicole Paloma at Arts Quest and in the course of our conversation she mentioned her sobriety and her desire to bring awareness to those overcoming addiction. Her new project, #Love_Sewn, does just that.
Its mission is:
To manufacture authentic hand-sewn apparel that inspires their customers to be themselves, to give hope to [its] employees by providing a platform for personal growth and sustainability both for homeless women and women recovering from addiction. To educate and raise awareness to remove the shame of addiction and mental illness in our society.
After learning that Nicole had put together this project and opened her new store, I instantly felt inspired and compelled to be of service. That being said, I have decided to donate 100% of my sales from this show to #Love_Sewn (less the cost of materials).
With the hope that these women are being given through this project in mind, Perfection is a Moving Target began to take on a life of its own. Using scraps of fabric from Nicole Paloma’s studio floor, other materials – both found and new, and universal messages that remind us we all have things we must accept or overcome – Each piece is intended to capture the whirlwind life can sometimes be and our clumsy attempts to control it by reminding us, we are okay. We are no different from one another. We are no less. And we will keep going.
As recovering addict, I feel it is part of my responsibility to recognize and bring change to the stigma of addiction, thus this project is particularly special to me. One in ten Americans struggle with drug and alcohol abuse. Of those, only 11% ever seek treatment. Addicts are often stereotyped and dehumanized as junkies and criminals, but the majority are just like everyone else – They are no different from you, other than the fact they are suffering. In order to understand that addiction is a serious illness, we must recognize and talk about it freely.
It is necessary to remove the shame and stigma of addiction in our culture and rather empower ourselves with knowledge, in order to understand instead of judge.
For more information about #Love_Sewn visit, nicolepaloma.com, or the artist, baileymillerart.com.
About Bailey Miller:
Bailey Miller is from a small town near Washington, Georgia. After attending Savannah College of art and Design she studied at Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California. She then moved to Baltimore, Maryland for two years where she worked at the Baltimore Museum of Art restoring and maintaining their acclaimed sculpture gardens.
She has resided in the South Walton area of the Florida panhandle for the past decade as a horticultural specialist all over the Emerald Coast. While she mostly paints in her spare time, she has been painting all of her life and her works have been shown in a variety of places from small galleries and private shows to murals and signs from coast to coast.
