I met Pamela years ago when I was covering George W.’s run for President back in 2000. She is a childhood friend and is still very close to Laura Bush, along with the President. So close that last spring the First Lady asked Pamela if she could attend a dedication at First United Methodist Church of Richardson as moral support for the unveiling of the stained glass windows that the artist designed for the church.

“Laura is always extremely busy but wanted to come," said Pamela. "She told me, ‘I want it to be about you, the windows, and the church.’ She didn't want word to get out ahead of time. Only three people in the church knew she was coming. There were a lot of police cars and security so people were wondering what was going on. It was a beautiful service and dedication.”

The majestic stained glass windows that grace the church exemplify her work which is larger than life in so many ways. Like the Color Equations displayed at North Park Center, the Creation Scrolls at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, and 20-foot mosaic and terrazzo floor at DFW Airport – they’re all beautiful, vibrant, and awe inspiring just like their creator.

For the past five years she’s been creating the designs on everything from pillows to table runners that are then made by women in Honduras. It started off as a local grass roots effort by a group of ladies at the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation to help these village women sell their embroidered items in the United States. Pamela created designs for them to use as a template. Sewing co-ops were formed. Word got out to other villages who also wanted to start sewing co-ops. Soon Honduras Threads (www.hondurasthreads.org) was formed to aid in starting new co-ops and in selling the goods they produce.

“We teach the women the appliqué technique and how to embroider, as well as recordkeeping and business skills,” said Pamela. “We have just started our fourth cooperative. We gather donated fabrics here and take them to Honduras. All of the proceeds of the sales go directly back to the women.”

“The co-ops have made a big difference in their lives,” she continued. “They’re learning accounting, and responsibility. It’s amazing how it’s taken women in a business mode that they weren’t in before. A lot had not worked or they were a housekeeper traveling by bus three hours and away from their children all day. Now their children can be with them. It’s very empowering to have your own money and not begging a father or husband for it.”

In addition to being able to feed their families better, the women are giving back to the community by improving living conditions like providing better water supplies for their villages. It’s a chain effect on how so many lives have been changed by a needle and thread. And even though they start with the same pattern, the variations that they create are truly works of individualized art – as unique as each woman with her own set of dreams that are becoming a reality with each stitch.

It’s a perfect example of an “It Takes a Village” approach as the women work, run their business, and sew together while their children play alongside them. The finishing touches and ironing of their creations are done by the church ladies in Dallas to get the items ready for market where they’re sold at places like local churches, arts and craft fairs to even hotels for décor. Pillows and other items are priced from $75 to $100. The goal is to find retailers interested in carrying the goods to continue the organizations efforts to help these businesswomen.

Pamela is a staunch supporter. She’s always peddling pillows whether it’s at church, to her VIP friends, or even at her art gallery showings. She’ll sell to anyone anywhere in order to support the cause.

She still teaches art classes to the homeless once a week. She jet sets each month from Dallas to D.C. for the Commission meetings where the panel advises on architectural designs like the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. And when it comes to Pamela’s art, whether it’s her current passion for stained glass creations, or an acrylic collage or an oil painting – she credits women as her inspiration and each masterpiece as an honor to them.

“I’m in debt to the women who have gone before me and that I’ve been inspired by their handiwork whether it’s rugs, weaving, embroidery or even architecture. We need to realize that it’s not just about us in this world. It’s what your mother, grandmother and all of the other women before us did to prepare the world that we now live in. They didn’t destroy. They created. We need to look back with gratitude to the women who for the most part are nameless, but who changed our world for the better.”

Women like Pamela Nelson.

To find out more about Pamela and her work go to:

www.pamelahnelson.com

For more information on Honduras Threads contact founder, M'Lou Bancroft at 214-941-6626; email MLou@HondurasThreads.org; or at www.hondurasthreads.org