#Artstudio on scjool bus professional#

Meanwhile, she was still doing things with her kids and the other families’ kids. This is who I really am.’ From there, I went from face painting to canvas to art to murals … it just kind of blew up on me!” Roni explained. This is who I put aside to raise my kids. I think that was the moment when I realized, ‘Oh yeah, this is who I am. “I worked for the zoo and for various entertainers I began doing body painting and all kinds of stuff.

#Artstudio on scjool bus professional#

People began asking her for her phone number, and suddenly she found herself in business as a professional face painter. Oh, my mom can decorate the hallways!’ So that’s what I did for a few years,” she said.Įventually, the PTO president asked Roni to do face painting for the school festival. Then my older kids started volunteering me for everything. “My kids went to Garcia Elementary their logo is an alligator, so I would make all the signs, painting alligators. It didn’t take long for others to see how she could best contribute. She became involved with her kids’ school, joining the PTO and volunteering to help wherever she could. Once Norberto went back to work, Roni dove back into being a full-time mom. Finding her calling as community leader and artist “The funny thing is that, even while I was working at the refinery, I found myself decorating hardhats and making art out of what the welders would drop!” she said with a laugh. Her passion for art was still alive, however. She found work in refineries building scaffolding. The young mother stepped up to the plate and took on the family’s breadwinner role while Norberto was recovering from his injury. When Roni’s third son was two months old, her husband fell 37 feet while working at an oil refinery, broke his back, and ended up out of work for five years. At 16, however, she became pregnant and transferred to a school for pregnant girls.Īfter her son was born, she briefly attended another school which would have enabled her to accelerate her graduation, but found it too hard to travel via bus with her baby, so she dropped out and studied to earn her GED while continuing to grow a family with her now-husband Norberto. The following year, she transferred to Davis (now called Northside) High School, which serves the neighborhood where Roni grew up.

Roni’s talent landed her a spot in Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, where she attended her freshman year. Can you draw something for me, too?’ and it went from there,” she said. “I was drawing something in honor of my dad, who had passed away, and this kid in class was like, ‘Wow, that’s really cool. She began channeling her creativity into practical projects with an aunt who made quilts, but it wasn’t until she was 12 that others began to recognize her drawing and painting abilities. In fact, she says she got in trouble with the babysitter when she was little for not coloring inside the lines. Roni wasn’t one of those kids who always knew she was an artist. Discovering her hidden talent through tough times at a young age Her big dream of serving the community through art is now coming true, thanks to a lot of hard work and a $100,000 grant via the Kelly Clarkson show. In Houston’s Northside neighborhood – and traveling around in a converted school bus that now serves as a mobile art studio and classroom – Veronica “Roni” Cabrera-Moreno is doing just that. When they grow up, they are the ones who march to the beat of their own drums, who chart paths where others haven’t gone before, and who find creative ways to achieve their dreams, even if that means taking a few detours along the way. Students were surveyed on the community-provided resources they felt were lacking in the city and we quickly learned that many of these young artists had limited or no access to art supplies.Īfter two years of interviews, fundraising, and endless support from the community, the perfect bus was found and Art Bus LNK was launched in June, 2020!Īrt Bus LNK is a now a mobile art studio and organization that focuses on providing charitable and educational art opportunities to youth through free, accessible, and direct community programming.There’s something to be said for kids who color outside the lines. The idea of Art Bus LNK started with a discussion with LNK youth to learn more about their experiences in Lincoln.