By Julia Frisbie | Greater NW Imagine No Malaria Field Coordinator
Miriam Brown is a small person making a big difference. At age three, she’s fundraising for Imagine No Malaria by auctioning off an original oil painting. Bidding is currently at $75 and will close on Christmas Day.
Miriam’s father, Rev. Tony Brown, serves Trinity United Methodist Church in Port Townsend, Washington. He says that buying art supplies was Miriam’s response to a lesson on Matthew 25:14-30. In this parable, a man entrusts his wealth (in the form of “talents”) to his employees when he goes on a long journey, and some of the employees earn a better return on that money than others. “We gave everyone in the church $10 a few Sundays ago,” says Rev. Brown, “and told them to find ways to multiply it following the story of the talents.”
This fundraising challenge was called “Invest it for God.” Trinity UMC is in the midst of a building project, and it’s also committed to the work of Imagine No Malaria. Many of its members have a special interest in the well-being of children in South Africa. Last August, the church sent eleven people on a two-week mission trip to Swaziland, South Africa to help repair an orphanage. Malaria is a constant threat to South Africa’s most vulnerable citizens, so Imagine No Malaria is close to this congregation’s heart.
Miriam painted for three weeks straight, showing a remarkable attention span for her age. Her abstract work features a variety of textures in bold jewel tones. “Even at age three, she has great sensitivity to color and composition,” says an anonymous art critic. “It’s unusual to see a cohesive color scheme from such a young artist, but she’s done a great job of choosing analogous colors and repeating them throughout the canvas to tie it all together. She’s also created a sense of perspective by using larger bodies of color in the lower half of the canvas.”
The only help that Miriam received was from her dad, who helped her get the paint out whenever the inspiration hit. With her dedication and attention to detail, she has a bright future in any artistic endeavor.
Miriam and her family are auctioning this painting off for a tax-deductible donation, 50% of which will go to Imagine No Malaria and 50% to the church’s building project. Want to hang it on your wall? It is framed and can ship for free anywhere in the lower 48. Support Miriam, her church, and Imagine No Malaria by emailing your bid to pastortonybrown@hotmail.com.
