Painting With A Twist Event To Benefit Local Soup Kitchen

In the days following Hurricane Katrina, people in New Orleans gave back to their communities with a new concept that turned everyone who enjoyed painting into an artist.

Painting With a Twist opened in Louisiana in 2007 and spread out from there. It has several locations throughout the area, including three in South Jersey.

Beatrix Luch, owner of the Mt Laurel store in the Shop Rite Shopping Plaza on Ark Road off Route 130, is doing a holiday twist that not only helps a local organization but also showcases her many artists on staff.

“Project Soup Kitchen” includes the sale of unique handmade ornaments drawn on mini oil paint canvases from each of Painting with a Twist’s five onsite artists.

They are $10 each, and every proceed goes to Camden’s Cathedral Kitchen, which provides holiday meals to more than 110,000 people locally.

To purchase the holiday ornaments, stop by the store or reserve one online. They can do custom orders too.

Luch is originally from Indonesia and considers herself an amateur painter.

There will also be a special class for custom ornament making on Dec. 18, 11 a.m.-2 p.m .

“Part of the corporation’s overall mission is to always give back to the community,” Luch said. “It is the reason why I decided to open my own business—doing something I love and help others. And with the holidays upon us where food is central, we felt Cathedral Kitchen does so much for so many people. It was easy to make this decision to support them.”

Artists come from Philadelphia, Pennsauken, Hainesport, Florence, Riverton and Mount Laurel. They each run the classes.

The Painting with a Twist Studio on 127 Ark Road offers individuals and groups the opportunity to have parties to create works of art. Painting with a Twist can accommodate pretty much any size gathering, up to 40 people per session.

“To take part in a class, visit www.paintingwithatwist.com/mt-laurel to see a calendar and the particular painting that will be done on that evening or weekend, then just click on it, sign up with the number of people, pay and you’re all set,” Luch said.

She strongly suggested people sign up ahead of time so that the art teacher knows what size class they will be having on any given night and to ensure there are enough supplies for everyone interested.

Painting with a Twist (formerly Corks N Canvas) is the largest employer of aspiring artists in the country. The company recognized early on that the talents and enthusiasm of the staff were key elements to the success of the product.

The company founders were both fundraisers in their previous positions, they have maintained that a core value of the company is to be an active member of the community and to focus on giving back.

With this in mind, Painting with a Purpose was created. Painting with a Purpose is a monthly fundraising event held at all Painting with a Twist locations as a centralized effort to raise funds that stay local in each market.