North Carolina artist William Mangum creates 27th annual Honor Card ...
PAY IT FORWARD
Painting
WITH passion
North Carolina artist William Mangum creates 27th annual Honor Card image By Kyra Gemberling 28
TRIADLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
M
ichael Saavedra was a frightening sight to behold when William Mangum first saw him. It was obvious Saavedra was homeless — he smelled like a trash can, his clothing was literally a heap of rags tied together with string. He was sitting all by himself in a crowded Hardee’s restaurant in Greensboro, but he had nothing in front of him to eat. Mangum was having breakfast that early August morning in 1987 with a friend, Peter, and he couldn’t help but stare at the desperate-looking young man sitting a few tables away. Peter noticed the man as well — “That guy looks like he’d take your head off!” he said to Mangum.
WINTER 2014
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PAY IT FORWARD
After Peter left, Mangum lingered at the restaurant for a few minutes before Saavedra approached him, asking for money. But Mangum had a better idea. “Are you hungry?” he asked Saavedra. “Yeah,” he replied. “Well then, let’s get you some breakfast,” Mangum said. Saavedra ordered just about everything on the menu, including a chocolate shake, Mangum recalls. Afterwards, Mangum drove him to the Greensboro Urban Ministry, gave him his business card and instructed him to call in a few days to let him know how he was doing. Saavedra did just that, and from that moment for the next three years, Mangum became Saavedra’s friend and his dedicated caretaker. “I don’t know why I persisted—I had good days and bad days with him,” Mangum says. “He was really quite a challenge, but our friendship just interwove. I watched this community embrace him and I watched this community reject him.” The first honor card “Not Forgotten,” inspired by Michael Saavedra (downtown Greensboro-1989).
Creating a message of hope Back then, Mangum’s career as a painter was just beginning to take off. Today, Mangum is known around North Carolina and beyond as one of the most popular and respected watercolor artists in the region. Around the holiday season, he is better known still in conjunction with Greensboro Urban Ministry’s Honor Card program, for which he paints a winter-themed image every year that is reproduced as cards. The cards are made available for a minimum donation of $5. All proceeds go directly to participating outreach agencies that seek to raise awareness and funds to meet the needs of the homeless. But if it weren’t for Mangum’s chance encounter with Saavedra, the Honor Card program may have never gained ground. It was during the second year of Mangum’s relationship with Saavedra that he was first asked to do an Honor Card painting by a friend at Urban Ministry. He agreed, but soon forgot all about it. Mangum was reminded about his promise right before the painting was due, so one night that week, he found himself in
30
TRIADLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
downtown Greensboro at 3 o’clock in the morning, sitting on the hood of his Jeep, looking around and waiting for inspiration to strike. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice yelling his name — “Bill! BILL!” It was Saavedra, whose frequent wandering around town at all hours was a side effect of his paranoid schizophrenia, a condition he’d been diagnosed with at age 15. Mangum asked Saavedra to walk up and down the street to give him scale and perspective for the painting, and the first Honor Card image, “Not Forgotten,” was born. The image — which depicts an older man walking, groceries in hand, down a snowy South Elm Street in downtown Greensboro — is meant to reflect the importance of remembering the plight of the less fortunate in the community. It raised more than $50,000 in its first year. Twenty-six years later, the Honor Card program has collectively raised more
than $5 million for homeless agencies. The program has been expanded across North Carolina, with 13 participating cities that provide the cards at no expense. “None of that would have come about had I not reached out and bought Mike Saavedra breakfast that morning,” Mangum says.
Living a lasting legacy The Honor Card program isn’t Mangum’s only philanthropic involvement in the community. He has created images to directly aid a variety of social causes, including Hospice, United Way, Greensboro Mental Health Society, Greensboro Ballet, The Scholastic Art Awards and others. He also volunteers at Greensboro Urban Ministry by leading a prayer group every Wednesday morning, which he’s been doing every week since Saavedra died in 1990. “The poor will always be with us, and your heart breaks for them because you don’t have all the answers,” Mangum
Mangum says. “The best thing you can do is be a consistent messenger of hope, encouragement and faith.” Mangum is also fond of representing the natural beauty of his home state in his work. This past May, he debuted “Carolina Preserves,” an artist-inspired home and furniture line that serves as a tribute to North Carolina’s unique history and traditions. It includes three collections – “Sea Breeze,” “Blue Ridge” and the recently added “Southern Pines,” which is specifically inspired by Mangum’s hometown. This year’s Honor Card image is called “Eternal Hope.” Mangum says he was inspired to paint the image after hearing Yolanda Adams perform the classic spiritual “A Change Is Gonna Come.” The cards can be found at any participating agency, namely at Greensboro Urban Ministry at 305 W. Lee Street. “Art is the perfect conduit to share a message to inspire something,” Mangum says. “I really believe that I’ve been given this gift in order to give back with it.” TL Kyra Gemberling is a freelance writer based in High Point. For more information about the Honor Card program, contact Joy Ross at [email protected]. William Mangum Fine Art gallery is located at 2166 Lawndale Drive in Greensboro.
Pictured above: 2014 Honor Card “Eternal Hope” and William “Bill” Mangum in his Greensboro studio. Left: “Sunset at Lookout” depicts North Carolina’s Cape Lookout lighthouse on Cape Lookout National Seashore.
WINTER 2014
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Painting
WITH passion
North Carolina artist William Mangum creates 27th annual Honor Card image By Kyra Gemberling 28
TRIADLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
M
ichael Saavedra was a frightening sight to behold when William Mangum first saw him. It was obvious Saavedra was homeless — he smelled like a trash can, his clothing was literally a heap of rags tied together with string. He was sitting all by himself in a crowded Hardee’s restaurant in Greensboro, but he had nothing in front of him to eat. Mangum was having breakfast that early August morning in 1987 with a friend, Peter, and he couldn’t help but stare at the desperate-looking young man sitting a few tables away. Peter noticed the man as well — “That guy looks like he’d take your head off!” he said to Mangum.
WINTER 2014
29
PAY IT FORWARD
After Peter left, Mangum lingered at the restaurant for a few minutes before Saavedra approached him, asking for money. But Mangum had a better idea. “Are you hungry?” he asked Saavedra. “Yeah,” he replied. “Well then, let’s get you some breakfast,” Mangum said. Saavedra ordered just about everything on the menu, including a chocolate shake, Mangum recalls. Afterwards, Mangum drove him to the Greensboro Urban Ministry, gave him his business card and instructed him to call in a few days to let him know how he was doing. Saavedra did just that, and from that moment for the next three years, Mangum became Saavedra’s friend and his dedicated caretaker. “I don’t know why I persisted—I had good days and bad days with him,” Mangum says. “He was really quite a challenge, but our friendship just interwove. I watched this community embrace him and I watched this community reject him.” The first honor card “Not Forgotten,” inspired by Michael Saavedra (downtown Greensboro-1989).
Creating a message of hope Back then, Mangum’s career as a painter was just beginning to take off. Today, Mangum is known around North Carolina and beyond as one of the most popular and respected watercolor artists in the region. Around the holiday season, he is better known still in conjunction with Greensboro Urban Ministry’s Honor Card program, for which he paints a winter-themed image every year that is reproduced as cards. The cards are made available for a minimum donation of $5. All proceeds go directly to participating outreach agencies that seek to raise awareness and funds to meet the needs of the homeless. But if it weren’t for Mangum’s chance encounter with Saavedra, the Honor Card program may have never gained ground. It was during the second year of Mangum’s relationship with Saavedra that he was first asked to do an Honor Card painting by a friend at Urban Ministry. He agreed, but soon forgot all about it. Mangum was reminded about his promise right before the painting was due, so one night that week, he found himself in
30
TRIADLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
downtown Greensboro at 3 o’clock in the morning, sitting on the hood of his Jeep, looking around and waiting for inspiration to strike. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice yelling his name — “Bill! BILL!” It was Saavedra, whose frequent wandering around town at all hours was a side effect of his paranoid schizophrenia, a condition he’d been diagnosed with at age 15. Mangum asked Saavedra to walk up and down the street to give him scale and perspective for the painting, and the first Honor Card image, “Not Forgotten,” was born. The image — which depicts an older man walking, groceries in hand, down a snowy South Elm Street in downtown Greensboro — is meant to reflect the importance of remembering the plight of the less fortunate in the community. It raised more than $50,000 in its first year. Twenty-six years later, the Honor Card program has collectively raised more
than $5 million for homeless agencies. The program has been expanded across North Carolina, with 13 participating cities that provide the cards at no expense. “None of that would have come about had I not reached out and bought Mike Saavedra breakfast that morning,” Mangum says.
Living a lasting legacy The Honor Card program isn’t Mangum’s only philanthropic involvement in the community. He has created images to directly aid a variety of social causes, including Hospice, United Way, Greensboro Mental Health Society, Greensboro Ballet, The Scholastic Art Awards and others. He also volunteers at Greensboro Urban Ministry by leading a prayer group every Wednesday morning, which he’s been doing every week since Saavedra died in 1990. “The poor will always be with us, and your heart breaks for them because you don’t have all the answers,” Mangum
Mangum says. “The best thing you can do is be a consistent messenger of hope, encouragement and faith.” Mangum is also fond of representing the natural beauty of his home state in his work. This past May, he debuted “Carolina Preserves,” an artist-inspired home and furniture line that serves as a tribute to North Carolina’s unique history and traditions. It includes three collections – “Sea Breeze,” “Blue Ridge” and the recently added “Southern Pines,” which is specifically inspired by Mangum’s hometown. This year’s Honor Card image is called “Eternal Hope.” Mangum says he was inspired to paint the image after hearing Yolanda Adams perform the classic spiritual “A Change Is Gonna Come.” The cards can be found at any participating agency, namely at Greensboro Urban Ministry at 305 W. Lee Street. “Art is the perfect conduit to share a message to inspire something,” Mangum says. “I really believe that I’ve been given this gift in order to give back with it.” TL Kyra Gemberling is a freelance writer based in High Point. For more information about the Honor Card program, contact Joy Ross at [email protected]. William Mangum Fine Art gallery is located at 2166 Lawndale Drive in Greensboro.
Pictured above: 2014 Honor Card “Eternal Hope” and William “Bill” Mangum in his Greensboro studio. Left: “Sunset at Lookout” depicts North Carolina’s Cape Lookout lighthouse on Cape Lookout National Seashore.
WINTER 2014
31
