JANUARY 26, 2024 VENDOR VOICES Undercover art intel: Rose Marcum Raugh Rose Marcum Raugh is one of the most influential homeless activists we have in Ann Arbor. When this powerhouse woman-warrior decides to do something she gets it done for everyone. The greatest teacher is personal experience, and Rose for many years was homeless as well. She came out of a military background with four years in the Navy. Military training sets many on a path to make a real difference for society. Being a vet helps out as well in helping other veterans get the connection to services and help they need. Rose discovered she had a real talent in art in an elective art class in high school. Art also became a therapy while she was going through homelessness. She told me it helped her focus on art instead of what she was dealing with at the time. I remember Rose sitting in the Delonis cafeteria and creating elaborate bead works for the public to buy. She told me, “I found rocks and wire, then I would wire wrap them to make jewelry. I would find rocks on the bank of the Huron River and in places like Crazy Wisdom. I used old telephone wire to create the art. It took days to make — that is why the price is so huge.” When Rose became housed, her art style changed and she started to make landscape paintings and landscape sculptures. My personal favorite is the fun gnome home she created with the relatively huge tree stump. Inside there is a small table, chair, bed and fireplace. She told me, “Miniatures are so fun to make. I get so many compliments on them.” Rose became homeless in 2011. She quickly saw many things that needed to change and set it upon herself to do so. She recounted, “It was in 2012 I started to get more involved with the Daytime Warming Center during the winter months. This gave me a foot in the door.” It was at the Journey of Faith Church CINDY GERE Groundcover vendor No. 279 that Rose saw real potential as the church needed to do outreach work for the community. It all came together when the church asked Rose to do a six month internship in 2017 and 2018. Then in 2019 the Art on a Journey Gallery officially opened in April. The six participating artists all had different kinds of art forms to display: photographs to clay to paintings. Then the 2020 lockdown occurred and the Journey of Faith mission changed overnight from “come get a shower, clothes and meal” to “food pantry and donations bags for the public.” The new and improved Art on a Journey is going to be about the homeless community directly. The vision is about teaching art to homeless people and giving them real art space to make art for the public; opening it up for classes and providing a gallery in a public space for amazing shows and selling art to the public. There will even be an open cafe for the homeless and art gallery in the same space. This new idea is a place for quiet and a place to get off the street and feel safe. As an artist myself, I feel there is a hidden artist in each and every one of us wanting to break out and do art. Rose has come a long way from the first steps of homelessness to being the president of M.I.S.S.I.O.N. Rose became Vice President in 2020; this led her to being President today. She has been a true, fearless leader and activist for all GROUNDCOVER NEWS 7 Rose Marcum Raugh at her desk located in the Art on a Journey Gallery at Journey of Faith Church. of us to look up to. I say if one person can make such a huge difference in our small community so can each and every one of us. It only takes that one step and, like Rose, changes will happen. The art gallery is slowly becoming a new reality. I personally see this summer a new grand opening happening. As always, there is a limited amount of funding for large ideas. For the project Rose is making, she is writing grants proposals. Let’s all come together as the Ann Arbor community and lend support — if it be financial or donations of art supplies such as acrylics, oils, paint brushes, drawing paper, markers or pencils sets for artists. Canvases, tabletop vessels, brush holders, oil pastels, smoke tarps, glue, construction paper, old magazines, cartons, old bits of cloth, gesso paint and any other art supplies help, too. We are an artist community. From the Art Fair to the Dance for Mother Earth Powwow and U-M School of Art and Design, art is in Ann Arbor to stay. Let's not let 2020 rule us and shut us out and down. Let us break all the barriers and make our city even bigger, even better for each and every one of us here.
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