Living Free Health and Fitness offering free Art for Recovery Classes.

Creative expression combines with support for the addiction recovery community each month at Living Free Health and Fitness’ Art for Recovery classes and as these events become ever more popular, founder and CEO Shelley Poerio is encouraging everyone to embrace their inner artist and the calming, grounding nature of bringing something to life through art.

“We look at it as a community support event, because art is a great coping skill, it’s a great strategy to just escape your daily troubles. And there is a sense of accomplishment and increased self-esteem. Plus, it’s fun!” Poerio told the Pahrump Valley Times on Thursday.

The Art for Recovery classes take place at Living Free Café, a therapeutic workplace established in April 2022 as a way to provide those in recovery a stable, sober working environment in which to build valuable job skills. Since its beginning four years ago, art has been a large part of the operation, with regular installations on display featuring local artists and Art for Recovery classes that originally took place quarterly. Initially, the classes didn’t attract large participation but undaunted, the decision was made last year to make them monthly and the momentum has really picked up in 2026.

“They have been hugely successful this year. They are free to the public but they have been ‘sold out’, so to speak, in the last few months and we’ve even increased the number of available spots,” Poerio detailed. “And also this year, coincidentally, we won a $2,000 grant through the Nye County Health and Human Services - Recovery Through Connections program and that’s been helping to pay for some of the costs of having the classes this year. We previously paid the artists $240 per class, to cover their materials and time but this year, because of inflation, we increased that to $300 and the grant pays $200 of that, so that’s been great.”

The lineup for 2026 has included local artists Jodi Sorteberg, Pam Rothermand, Catherine Miller, Jeannie King and Judy Strait, with decoupage, jewelry making, acrylic painting and watercolor painting all in the year’s schedule. Each of these artists has their own connection to the café, as well, having their artwork displayed on the walls for potential buyers to admire.

“We have a very good relationship with artists and artists’ groups in town and that relationship really started with the art on display in the café. We’ve given them the gallery space for our artwork, we manage the payments when they sell something and we don’t take a gallery fee,” Poerio explained. “Then some of them teach these classes and we pay them for that, which is great, but from this same pool of talent come the people who have donated their original artwork for our annual Art for Recovery Banquet fundraiser. April 10, 2027 will be the 5th anniversary for that event and it’s evolved from beginning, where the artists would say, ‘Hey, I have something already made I can donate for the auction’ to ‘I know exactly what I am going to do for you this year,’ and they end up creating something incredibly beautiful. So, the classes are a natural result of our relationship deepening with our local artists and I love it. It’s pretty cool how it’s turned out – the circle of us supporting them and them in turn supporting us.”

More than just a venue for good food, Living Free Cafe also serves as a demonstration of the power of support in recovery and the real hope there is for those facing the disease of addiction to build a better life moving forward.

“I, too might have had a bias against the idea of a place with employees who have gone through these struggles if I wasn’t in recovery myself, but many people do recover, they do get better. Many change and we have evidence right here in the café of men and women who have made the right choices this time, who are being very successful and by that fact, are helping to reduce the stigma of addiction,” Poerio emphasized. “I think from the aspect of seeing really good service, really good quality, excellent consistency, friendliness, happiness, smiles, respect, manners – it’s been awesome. And I think the art has really opened the doors, in a lot of ways, to people who might have that bias and help change that.”

The next class at Living Free Café will focus on the art decorating objects with cutouts and layers of varnish or lacquer – decoupage.

A Ghost Gourd Decoupage class is set for next Saturday, Sept. 19 from 1 to 3 p.m., giving residents the chance to make a ghostly figure out of a hard-shelled gourd and Poerio said she is excited to see what the attendees will create. The class will come with all necessary equipment and tools provided, including aprons and stands to display the pieces once complete.

In the upcoming months, classes will include another round of acrylic painting with Sorteberg on October 25, followed by watercolor painting with Jody Strait on November 14 and watercolor painting with King on December 6.

All classes take place at Living Free Café, 2050 N. Highway 160, in the shopping plaza just off Mesquite Road. Seating is limited and reservations are required.

For more information or to sign up for a spot at one of the future classes, email SaveALife@LivingFreeHealth.org

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com