Meet Melanie Reimer | Heart Ink Director with InFaith Mission

We had the good fortune of connecting with Melanie Reimer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Melanie, what inspires you?
If I am to be honest, I am inspired by my the narrative of my life journey as I’ve come through seasons of emotional losses and traumas. I believe God has given me and every human being, the ability to be creative, which is also an important coping strategy that helps us heal. We are designed by a Creator, and made in His image which means we all have a creative side, we just need to discover it. And when we do, we become more whole as we are able to integrate our thoughts and emotions and body together again. Under stress, our thoughts become overwhelmed by our emotions and sometimes we can even feel disconnected from our bodies. But basic neuroscience will tell you that if the imagination is shut down due to trauma and the body’s after affects of it, re-igniting that creative space is also a healing process that helps re-connect our thinking and emotional brain. So, if we can keep moving (dancing), drawing and painting, and singing or creating music, we would find that we are able to take the hard things in life and create amazing beauty from it. (Whether that be beauty in our strength of character as we overcome difficulties and learn to stand firm with grace, or produce an actual piece of artwork that can encourage or help another person. When we look at artwork, read a poem, or see someone else paint and express what we are going through, we feel seen for the first time.)I know that images and words are powerful for me, and when I feel seen, and someone expresses what I’ve gone through in life well, it helps me heal just a little bit more. So, I’m inspired by the potential that every human being has to enter into that space for themselves, but also to help another person in their journey.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

At Heart Ink, we desire to be a heartbeat of love into our local community, using the visual arts to share God’s love with His greatest masterpiece ever, humanity. We offer a free, safe place for elementary children, preschool (ages 3yrs+) to six grade, to explore the visual arts where they will learn about famous artists, discover their own personal creative expression, and even grow in their emotional self-awareness. In the midst of this creative environment located in Whittier, we also create a safe place for faith conversations as each art project goes along with short Bible story. But our goal is to tell it as a story, so that any child or parent, no matter where someone might be in their questions of faith, beliefs, and spiritual journey, would come and feel welcome!

Heart Ink began in prayer about how to love my community, and especially children with all the social restrictions we were facing during Covid. As a child art played a huge role in my life to help me deal with emotional distress. Whether it was drawing, singing, or writing stories or poems, being creative always allowed me to process the emotional stresses of life and connect to God for wisdom and strength during hard times. I wanted to share that HOPE with others despite the isolation we were experiencing as a community during Covid. So, through the support of a Southlands Whittier/Brea Church, we gathered a team that started doing Heart Ink at the local city park since the community centers were still all closed. I had a vision of God’s heart beating for the world, which translated into loving on our community in creative ways despite losing our ability to gather indoors during that season.

The obstacles I faced in starting Heart Ink, after things opened up again from Covid were both emotional and practical. On the emotional side, I struggled with doubts as to whether my vision meant anything, or whether my skills or abilities could even sustain the vision I had. I think that most people who take a risk to start something new have to jump through these mental traps of doubt and fear that are always there at first. I am an educator with art educational training, but not a professional artist. However, I am an artist in my heart and with my free time; it is how I decompress. So, as I started to plan and prepare for Heart Ink, and the doubts and fears crept in, God, along with amazing friends and pastors, would remind me that offering my heart to the community is what really mattered. They kept reminding me that Heart Ink mattered, and there was something to it! So, if you ask me what I am personally most proud of, it is the courage to step out in faith and follow God with the vision He gave me. To simply to risk being in the stages of growth in front of others, and to myself the freedom to not have it all “figured out” at the beginning of something new took courage. Risk requires that we allow ourselves to be comfortable in the messy parts as we learn when the unknowns and the successes are all mixed together as we develop the vision we’re are holding.

On the practical side of things, the obstacles I faced were that same as most start-ups and non-profits. I needed a building location, funding, and a strong volunteer base. (We still need a stronger volunteer base, so check out our website and consider joining our community!) However, as I would pray about the needs, and share my vision with my leaders at InFaith, I simply began to see God open small doors one step at a time…until He finally opened literal doors too! Our room was provided by a local church, Calvary/El Calvario in Whittier and that was one of the first confirmations I had that this vision wasn’t just about me but for the community. Since we started talking about the vision for Heart Ink in 2021, I’ve witnessed resources provided from friends and individuals all over the U.S. and even in other countries, (amazon is awesome for that). I’ve seen people’s hearts open to give their time weekly in volunteering (thank you Lauren Twissleman and Juanita Meraz). Even in our days at the park, we had some of the most AMAZING VOLUNTEERS who are so faithful, and servant hearted!!! I’ve seen funding come in from so many different, and unexpected places as well, to help us pay rent cost, cover supplies, and furnish our room. Even our families who are blessed by the classes are joining the community and beginning to give back now!

One obstacle that we are still overcoming is just getting the word out that we are here and open! Since we were not able to advertise in the local schools, it has taken a while for us to share the resources and opportunities with the local community, but word is growing! So, thank you to Shoutout SoCal for helping us share the good news even further!

What has made Heart Ink so unique and special, is that it isn’t just my heart for this community anymore, it’s literally hundreds of individuals who aren’t even in this city now, giving to Whittier and to strangers they don’t even know! This heart of God’s love that is pouring out, is now bigger than it just me. It’s a joy to be a part of something like that and see kids, and even parents, getting the chance to have creative spaces and ask faith questions without fear of judgment. It’s my hope that we will continue to reach families who could never afford art classes for their kids as we grow and truly reach those that need this creative space so desperately. When you have a vision or dream and walk by faith, you can’t imagine what could happen! It’s terrifying, and beautiful all at the same time.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

If I had a best friend visit and we had time to enjoy the local area and sights, I’d probably go kayaking in the canals around Long Beach and find a spot to stop on the shore for a picnic lunch. Then we’d head over to Seal Beach, enjoy the shops and the little Thai on Main street restaurant for dinner and order the Som-tom (papaya salad) with sticky rice and grilled chicken. We might watch the sunset and enjoy a local ice cream cone or sorbet to finish the day. And if we didn’t go to these beach areas, Laguna Beach is my other favorite spot to enjoy as I wander through the art galleries along the streets!

No visit to California is quite complete without a bigger tourist attraction, like a day at Universal Studios or Disneyland to make it special in the week. But we’d also just hang out in the local areas, so I’d take my friend to Penn Park in Whittier for a picnic lunch, and we’d play card games or maybe a game of volleyball. We’d eventually make our way into uptown, wander the shops on Greenleaf Street, grab some Boba milk tea at Chillin’ or coffee at Lift, and end the day at one of the fun restaurants or gather with friends for a potluck in the backyard, watch a movie projected on the side of the house and enjoy the firepit and roast some marshmallows!

The next day we’d venture into L.A. and spend the morning on Olvera Street, and go to the Getty Center in the afternoon, but finish the day off at Urth’s Café chatting. I enjoy being in nature as well, so we’d have to squeeze in a hike around Eaton Canyon, the Monrovia falls, or wander the gardens at the Huntington Library or the Arcadia Arboretum. We might even set up our own painting easels and just have fun trying to paint something we saw if we were so brave.

And if I could extend our time for a second week, we’d travel out of the city up into the Sequoia National Forest, and spend a day or two up among the giant trees camping, because I just love how beautifully diverse this state is and how being in nature makes me forget the noise of life and helps ground me.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are many people who have contributed to making Heart Ink Arts Community possible in its beginning stages! First of all, Heart Ink would not be possible if it weren’t for God in my life, His Word, family, friends, and InFaith which is an American mission organization that allows individuals to creatively share the love of Jesus in our communities, as a non-profit ministry. InFaith empowers those that believe that God has called us to love Him, and therefore love our neighbors as we love ourselves. As an organization they’ve made it possible for me, and others nationally, to share that love of God in relevant ways in our local communities. The Bible, my favorite book of influence has been my foundation as to what “loving our neighbor” might look like. Heart Ink has partnered with individual churches like Calvary/ El Calvario in Whittier who have graciously made the space available for this Heart Ink Arts Community as an after-school program. We’ve been supported by individuals in other churches, like Southlands Brea, and Plymouth Church Whittier who have donated resources, finances, volunteers, and contributed to the development of the program. Our current volunteers for this year, like Ms. Juanita Meraz, Ms. Lauren Twissleman, and Ms. Catherine Martinez have made starting Heart Ink able to open our doors! But we started as a small “idea” during Covid restrictions with a team of volunteers from Southlands Church (Whittier/Brea), by offering activities in the park for kids to gather and be creative as we shared a Bible story. That faithful team gave me the encouragement that Heart ink could be even more than a weekend event. (Shout out to Nadina Picarella already featured in your article as someone who’s continued to cheer me on). We were gifted the talents of Jeremy Hamman, and Twinkle who’ve contributed to the graphic design of the logo. In addition, there are countless financial supporters (including our own Heart Ink families, friends, and churches who have given to Heart Ink even from outside Southern California. We’ve had donations from Hessel Church in Sebastopol, California, individuals across the U.S, and we’ve even had donations sent from amazon all the way from Thailand from friends and supporters! So, we’ve seen so many people give resources, time, finances, facilities, prayers, and love…for us to pour that love back into the community in Whittier, and we hope we are going to keep doing that as we grow.

Website: https://www.heartinkartscommunity.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heartinkartscommunity/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-reimer-a064506b/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heartinkartscommunity

Other: https://infaith.org/ministries/melanie-reimer

Image Credits
Nicole Fox Rachelle Games