JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Jan Shook has always appreciated the mystique of seashells.
She wonders about their stories, their travels, how they wound up on a certain beach at a certain location, what they’ve seen down there in the Gulf waters.
“And they have beautiful symmetry,” she says. “The edges look like ribbons, and each one has its own little personality. No two are just alike.”
Shook, 65, has combined her love of shells with her passion for painting to produce unique Christmas ornaments with different scenes or objects - among them, a nativity; human eyes; a fleur-de-lis; St. Peter’s By the Sea Episcopal Church in Gulfport, where she attends; and the Episcopal shield. They sell for $10 each.
Over the past two years, proceeds from sales of her artwork have gone toward one of St. Peter’s outreach ministries - Feed My Sheep, a Gulfport pantry that feeds the homeless Monday through Friday. Sales also have helped St. Peter’s add weekend meals for those in need.
“It’s mind-boggling to think that my art, which I never thought anybody would want to buy, is actually helping do the work of Jesus Christ,” Shook says. “It’s humbling . yes, that’s the right word. Humbling.”
Says the Rev. Patrick Sanders of St. Peter’s by the Sea: “Jan Shook is one of the most compassionate, generous, charitable people I’ve ever encountered. She lives to serve people. She’s inspired me.”
Shook, who grew up in Winona, received a vocal music degree from Mississippi State in 1974.
“I studied opera for more than 30 years,” she says. “That’s why when somebody says, ’I didn’t know you were a painter,’ I’ll say, ’I’m not. I’m a singer.’ “
Shook returned to school and earned her degree in speech-language pathology from Ole Miss in 1986. She has worked with deaf children for three decades.
“It’s strange, but my job as a speech therapist is where I realized my art skills,” she says. “If I wanted a child to say a word - truck or shoe or whatever - and I didn’t have the object, I would draw one. And I discovered I wasn’t bad at it, though I had never been trained.”
About 10 years ago, Shook began collecting shells wherever she traveled and visited a beach. She would then paint the scene of the place she collected each shell.
“All that painting is what led me to be able to contribute shells to the church’s ministry,” she says. “I never saw this coming.”
In 2015, Sanders - new to St. Peter’s - was working on developing the church’s outreach ministries. Church members were concerned about where the homeless found meals on weekend.
“We are right downtown, where the homeless people are, so we began serving breakfast every Saturday,” Sanders says. It was funded that year by a donation from one church member.
In 2016 the church turned to fundraisers at Murky Waters, a barbecue restaurant in downtown Gulfport, to help fund the breakfast ministry. Sanders played guitar and sang, along with others. A silent auction was held. Shook was encouraged to include some of her Christmas ornaments to bid on. All of them sold.
The church raised about $10,000 in 2016. It allowed the people of St. Peter’s to also supply a lunch every second Sunday of the month at 12:15 p.m. of sandwiches and chips, also served at the Feed My Sheep parking lot. They’ve done the same this year.
Meanwhile, Shook began receiving individual requests to purchase ornaments.
“So just last month, I was able to give my share to Feed My Sheep but also make some money for myself,” she says. “The ministry is the most important thing. I’ll always give to that, simply because I see the good it does and I like the way it makes me feel.”
Every Saturday morning, rotating team members arrive at the Feed My Sheep parking lot on 19th Street in time to wrap 60 sausage biscuits to serve at 8 a.m. It is open to anyone needing a meal.
“We have individuals come. We have mothers bring their children,” says Shook, who helps coordinate the event. “We are helping people, yes, but you have to experience it to realize what it does for those who work the breakfast.
“I’ve had other church members text me after their first breakfast and say, ’Thank you for letting me serve.’ Letting me serve! But that’s what giving and doing the Lord’s work does to a person.”
A single mother of three grown children, Shook is busier with her art than ever.
It is no small chore to paint with an oyster shell as your surface. Each piece requires about three days to complete. The shells have to be cleaned, then spray painted gold on the back and with a white lacquer that provides the palette area. The painted scene has to dry, and then Shook seals the ornament with polyurethane.
“I once considered my art comic relief,” Shook says with a laugh. She jokes that she is “shell-shocked” by the whole idea that “Shook sells shells.”
“I am still mesmerized by shells,” she says. “I don’t think that will ever go away. But being able to combine my art with shells, which then goes on to benefit others and promote the word of Jesus … all that is almost too much to comprehend.”
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