By Anna Grace Moore
Photos by Kelsea Schafer
A window into the soul, art is a reflection of the heart’s innermost desires. To author such expressiveness is to value the relationship paint has to emotion–a brisk dance between brush and board.
Chris Cruz’ fascination with art has only ever grown as she did, pondering her to ask questions such as “Why not?” Money nor lack of resources never stopped her from pursuing her dream.
Now, she is empowering other creative minds, igniting within them the courage to create.
A native of Queens, New York, Chris moved to Bayamon, Puerto Rico, with her family when her father relocated for work. Growing up in Latin culture, Chris was immersed in such a colorful culture–rich in history and art.
“My mother said she never had a need to buy me toys because I could take an orange peel and a bottle cap and make something out of it,” she says. “I was exposed to a lot of art–very colorful art. Everybody paints and draws. The music is Latin music, and it’s very powerful. I was always ‘awake’ to create.”
After her father retired, Chris’ family moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where she stayed for 40 years during which time she met her husband, Tony, and started their family together. As a stay-at-home mom, Chris found time to be a troubling thing if not something tangible in her hands.
She started working part-time in her neighbor’s arts and crafts store, working to earn money for art supplies and so she could take classes. Chris’ neighbor generously blessed her, allowing her to study under her tutelage.
Soon, Chris could finally scratch her insatiable itch to create; thus, her painting career began. She remembers the first “real” piece she ever created–a wooden coat rack painted in oils and sanded around the edges for a more “rustic” look.
That was in 1987. Today, it hangs in her laundry room as a reminder of her humble beginnings.
In 1993, just a few short years after Chris started painting commissions for her friends, she got her big break. Her neighbor was moving and closing her store, but not before blessing Chris with the means necessary to jumpstart her entrepreneurial dreams.
“On a Sunday morning, I opened up the front door, and there were two huge boxes of supplies with a note on it that said, ‘There’s no excuse for you not to go into business for yourself.’ That’s what started it all,” Chris says, smiling.
Not long after, Chris came across a vacant space that was perfect for her to open up shop. She officially opened her own arts and crafts store, The Craft Club, in 1993, selling her artwork, supplies and even teaching classes–her very favorite thing to do.
The Craft Club’s popularity grew like wildfire as people came from all over to take classes not necessarily because Chris is a talented artist, but because she encourages others to believe in their God-given abilities and try something new.
“People always say, ‘You painted that in five minutes!’ It took me 30 years to paint that in five minutes,” Chris says, chuckling.
Every time she would teach a class, Chris would show her students how to paint a simple subject such as a cardinal or a Monarch butterfly–she would then keep her own originals and give them to people who have made a positive impact in her own life.
“I feel that God has a mission for me to do something with my creativity,” she says. “It’s not for me to keep. I need to spread it, so people can have a little part of that. It’s just like a force that drives me to do that.”
Little did she realize how much of a ripple effect she was creating. Students would come into her classes who had lost their loved ones or who had just received terrible health diagnoses.
Yet, they would all leave feeling a little lighter with a pep in their step. Chris does not take credit for their success, nor does she believe she is the reason they left feeling happier.
She attributes these wonderful outcomes to the Lord and His faithfulness, as evident in her own artistic journey.
“I feel that sharing your art should be the most important thing as an artist,” Chris says.
Paintings are the projection of an artist’s feelings–her catharsis plastered onto a blank canvas, colored with the hues of her heightened emotions. In each, Chris says one can see the intensity in the brush strokes and texture, and if one looks a little more closely, she can see exactly how this medley of techniques yields a story.
It is this visual storytelling that Chris says connects an artist’s shared humanity with the world and helps everyone heal. Everybody endures trials in her lifetime.
What makes her worth remembering is not her suffering; rather, it is how she painted her struggle into her story.
Eight years after the birth of her business, Chris began enduring some severe health issues and made the decision to close The Craft Club. While she still loved to paint and could continue teaching sporadically, it was not feasible for her to keep the doors open.
She held a celebratory open house, offering all of her supplies for $10 each or less. All of Chris’ students came to wish her well and buy some supplies, completely cleaning her out of stock.
They all even helped clean her store from sweeping floors to hauling away slabs of stone, leaving the empty building looking brand new.
“I never had to put a dime into my store, and if it wasn’t for those people coming to my store, I wouldn’t have had all those products,” Chris says. “In a way, they were also part of that store.”
Chris believes that if it were not for her neighbor blessing her with art classes and supplies, she may never have had the opportunity to open up her own business, much less pursue a passion she loved. She wanted to pay that blessing forward ten-fold, and to this day, it remains one of her fondest memories.
Chris and Tony made the jump to the Yellowhammer State less than a decade ago to be closer to family as they entered a new chapter in their lives. Chris quickly joined as many art groups as she could and now teaches at Alabama Art Supply, the Shelby County Arts Council and the Alabaster, Chelsea, Heardmont, Trussville and Columbiana Senior Centers.
Not only is she a member of the Mountain Brook Art Association and the Middle Tennessee Artists group, but she also teaches at conventions in Tennessee, Georgia and Florida.
Although her artwork has become known across the Southeast, Chris says she values affordability and only creates originals, never prints. She wants her customers, no matter their income, to be able to afford an original work of art–something that by societal standards can cost thousands of dollars.
Not Chris Cruz’ art, however.
“I had Miss Columbiana come to my booth one day and say, ‘I want to buy that piece,’” Chris says. “She said, ‘This is my first, original painting, and when I go to college, I am going to hang it in my dorm!’ Doesn’t that make you feel good? That’s my reward.”
When asked why she prices her art so well, Chris simply replies that she “can’t take it with her to Heaven.” For her, being in the art business was never about the money.
It has and will always be about sharing her talent with which God has blessed her and using it to spread love and joy to other people–those who need it most in life. If through her ministry Chris Cruz can paint a better world, she’ll start by picking up a paintbrush, asking, ‘Why not?’
To view or purchase Chris Cruz Art or to sign up for classes, visit chriscruzdesigns.com.
Chris Cruz Art
Chris Cruz is a Golden Paint and Silver Brushes-certified instructor. As one of only 200 worldwide, Chris values being able to share such a love for creativity with other people. Those interested in following her career or learning more about classes can follow her on Instagram (@chriscruzdesigns).
