Local heroes: Cancer-surviving artist offers daily painting class for kids, a break for parents

Who do you feel has been a LOCAL HERO during the COVID-19 pandemic in Calgary and southern Alberta, be it on the front lines or in the community helping others? We want to know for our new series paying tribute to these local heroes. Tell us which person or team you'd nominate and why via email to CBC Calgary reporter Meghan Grant at meghan.grant@cbc.ca.

She's like the Bob Ross for kids. 

Cochrane artist MJ Stead wanted to do what she could during the pandemic to help keep children occupied and inspired.

She created a Facebook group called Paint with MJ.

Every weekday, Stead does a free, hour-long, Facebook Live painting class for kids.

Stead expected 20 to 30 kids to sign up for the live painting class, but now her group has more than 1,500 members from all over the country — and many families have more than one child participating.

Stead says creativity and art are a good way to relieve stress.

"I think children are experiencing a lot of stress right now through all of these restrictions that we're all living under," says Stead. 

"Kids don't understand it and kids don't know that they're feeling stressed out. So this is a way for them to do something creative and take their mind off of things."

'Nasty cancer' inspiration

Stead was inspired after painting helped her get through "a nasty cancer."

Two years ago, Stead was diagnosed with breast cancer, which involved chemo, radiation and a double mastectomy. 

Stead says art got her through the treatments. When she couldn't get off the sofa, she challenged herself to do a painting a day for 100 days. 

That's when the beloved Cochrane face painter took up water colour.

Paint with MJ was "absolutely, 100 per cent" inspired by Stead's cancer journey.

"My breast cancer and my treatment brought me to a place where everybody else is right now — a place of uncertainty, of being isolated. I had no immune system."

"When school was cancelled, I knew how everybody was going to feel and that prompted me to get moving."

Stead, 59, loves kids, but her own are adults now, so she says this project gives her another opportunity to work with and make children happy. 

And the class isn't just for the youngsters. Stead knows she's also giving parents a break. It's like a virtual babysitting service. 

"The parents are very thankful," says Stead.

On Sundays, she creates five paintings so the kids have one for reference. Then she paints another one live, with the kids.

They often share their work with Stead afterward.

"Oh my god, it is so heartwarming. It brings me so much joy. I mean, if they're getting half the joy out of this that I'm getting from them, we're all doing good."

Stead is looking to offer more physical distancing art experiences online, such as Zoom painting classes for children's birthday parties, and wine and paint nights for adults.

She has teamed up with a local law firm that's partnered with 51 seniors' homes in the area with the idea of offering painting classes via video chat for the residents.