A yellow school bus is probably a familiar sight on your morning commute. In Charlotte, a local artist has turned one bus into a mobile art studio and uses it to bring art to kids in the city’s mostly low-income communities. For 60-year-old Bunny Gregory, art was once a way to escape child abuse. She now aims to support other children and families in the same situation.
Bunny Gregory pulled a small trolley off a yellow school bus parked in uptown Charlotte outside the VAPA Center one recent afternoon.
She dragged it to her truck, which was parked nearby, before she began unloading.
“Now I’m getting off buckets of water because right now I don’t have a water source on the bus,” Gregory said. "So, when I paint, I do have to carry five-gallon buckets of water with lids, so I clean up my mess.”
Gregory is heading to west Charlotte to provide kids with a chance to paint at Safe Alliance. Safe Alliance supports individuals, children, and families impacted by human trafficking, sexual assault, and domestic violence. Something Gregory knows about.
“I was (a) victim of sexual and verbal abuse when I was younger,” Gregory said. "And had it not been for art or having a way to express creativity, I don’t know where I’d be.”
Gregory says she was a victim of child abuse by her father. As for why she volunteers with kids, she says.
"It fills me up. It really keeps me going,” Gregory said. "It gives me joy because I feel like I missed a lot of that when I was younger. So, I’m kind of living through them.”
After the bus is loaded with paint brushes, buckets of water, and painting sheets, Gregory grabs her keys and sets off. At Safe Alliance’s security-gated building, Gregory chats with Sarah-Kate Pease, the group's director of corporate and community engagement.
“Gorgeous day for all this,” Pease said.
“It’s so pretty out here. It really is,” Gregory said. "You know this whole experience. Even that first day it kind of rained a bit, it wasn’t bad.”
Pease says she’s pleased Gregory is here with her bus.
“I just love that she wants to give back and kind of provide that same outlet that she has discovered as an outlet for herself after overcoming her trauma,” Pease said.
On the bus, about a handful of kids painted and left their handprints on the walls. Others needed Gregory's help so they could make their mark.
One child who WFAE is not naming for safety concerns said, "I want green." While another child asked Gregory for some black paint.
“You want me to make you a plate with some extra colors?” Gregory said.
Gregory's question was met with a nod from the child.
“I will do that for you! I got you,” Gregory said.
As for what it's like seeing so many kids on the bus while their parents stand nearby, Gregory said.
“Oh, I love it, Gregory said. “I love it because I get to see them have fun, and I don’t have to discipline them.”
With thousands of children in Charlotte affected by abuse, 60-year-old Gregory and the Underground Art Bus have a few more miles left to roll.
