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The Oikos Collective
ARTS AND CRAFTS FOR ALL AGES AT OCEAN PARK’S FAMILY WORSHIP CENTER
By LYNDA LAYNE
FOR COAST WEEKEND
amily Worship Center pastors Don
and Brenda Mower saw a need
in Ocean Park and the surround-
ing community for people aspiring to do
arts and crafts to learn from those with
experience.
Don’s solution: the Oikos Collective.
Standing at a table with evidence of art
supplies, from glue to paint, on his hands,
he explained the concept during a break
from making collages with his son, Ezra.
“This is a community for artists and
crafts people. I developed it myself,” he
said. “Oikos” is an ancient Greek word
that dates back to Aristotle. “Our church
developed a ministry built around Oikos,
which means ‘family’ or ‘house.’”
That’s the first stage. “The second part
is fellowship. The third, discipleship,” he
said.
But this is not a church service. There is
no collection plate.
“Pastor Don’s vision for Oikos Col-
lective isn’t so much an introduction to
art as it is an artist collaborative where
trained and seasoned artists can sit along-
side beginners,” Brenda, Don’s wife,
explained. “Everyone has art and beauty
inside of them, and the Oikos Collec-
tive is an outlet for expressing that art and
beauty.”
F
Art for everyone
Don said beginners and advanced art-
ists can flourish in this environment.
This was evident at the first monthly
event, in February, when local artist Bar-
bara Martin taught people how to make
collages. All of the materials were pro-
vided: On a long table at the back of the
room were stacks of magazines, rolls of
crepe paper, tissue paper, a box of glue
sticks, some burlap fabric and scores of
supplies.
Don admitted that he has “no art skills.”
Yet he scooped up supplies, sat with Ezra
and dove into his first collage.
See Oikos, Page 14
Lynda Layne photos
TOP: Let the games
begin. Within minutes
of the instructor’s
introduction to the art
of collage, magazines
and other supplies were
strewn all over one of
the round tables, and
hands wielding scissors
were at work. LEFT:
Pastor Don Mower, who
confessed to having
‘no art skills,’ quickly
caught on to creating a
collage, as did his son,
Ezra. RIGHT: Instructor
Barbara Martin put
together a collage of
Vincent van Gogh, using
a variety of colors and
textures.