H-Town Run Tourist's Guide to Mental Health
Feel like a kid again with community art
Jul 8, 2019, 6:46 am
H-Town Run Tourist's Guide to Mental Health
Jovan Abernathy is an international marathoner and owner of Houston Tourism Gym. To claim your free tour, contact her at info@tourismgymhtx.com. Follow her on Twitter @jovanabernathy. Instagram @TourismGymHtx. Facebook @TourismGymHtx
Last week, I gave my 9 recommendations to de-stressing. Because mindfulness has to be practiced every day, this week, I decided to try Hack #9 "Try Something New.". Because one of my super-powers is being at the right place at the right time, I just so happened to know of a community art project with some big time local artists.
Nicola Parente and Tami Moschioni, founders of Art Uniti, are creating a new art project and needed help. I have helped on community art projects before. My tourists and I worked closely with artist Carol Simon on "First Ward is Blooming." We painted up-cycled water bottles and cut them up like flowers. It was a perfect way to chill out after work. The project took 9 months to finish and when we did, we were all proud of our "flower garden." I had been looking for a new one since and I finally found it.
Houstonians' gifts of creativity.
Author's own
We met at the Baker Ripley Leonel Castillo Community Center in Near North Houston. I was so happy that 20 of my tourists came to help. Nicola briefs everyone first:
"This community project is called Snapshot. It is a permanent installation made of steel that will perfectly frame the view of downtown Houston. There will be a spot to stand and take your selfie with the perfectly framed skyline behind you. Hence, the name Snapshot. The frame will be sitting on top of a pedestal covered with tile designs. That is where you come in. Each one of you has a setting in front of you and a bowl of tiles. You are free to design anyway you want, just stay in the lines."
It was heads down as everyone set to making their tile designs. I decided to do a Blue Tile design to depict the first street signs of Houston. You know the ones that are found on the curbs. It seemed like a breeze until my fingers got too big.
The Taylor Family spending some quality time together.
Author's own
I listened to the conversations being had. Everyone talked about when they were kids and how they loved to paint and color. Everyone was asking questions about the person next to them. The children, in the room, were all of a sudden treated like the authorities on creativity. But, not one was talking about bills or gossip. Mission accomplished. That is exactly what I wanted.
Mother and daughter, Bobby and Rachel had a gloomy week and felt inspired and uplifted while working on their tiles. Rachel was stressed about her pre-calculus final and wanted to spend time with her mom. Gillian and Tracey moved here a few months ago. Gillian works from home and sometimes can get lonely and Tracey travels a lot for work. Both were excited to do something different and get out.
Artists Nicola Parente and Tami Moschioni hold a mock-up of Snapshot.
Author's own
Now, I bet you are thinking "What is Art Uniti?" Nicola feels that being creative is a huge component to mental health. It makes him happier and he wanted to share it with others. Because they know how important art is, Tami and Nicola founded Art Uniti to let the community get involved in creating the public art around Houston. The community is able to gift their art to the city with the help of respected artists like Tami and Nicola. Snapshot is the fifth project from Art Uniti. Maybe you've seen these projects around the city: Community Quilt at Kroger at Riverstone Sugarland, Color Bursting in Hermann Park, and Scaped Senses across from Moody Park. Unfortunately, community involvement on Snapshot is closed, but I will definitely keep you posted about new projects.
CJ Stroud put a lot of Texans fans at ease when he showed up to mandatory minicamp on Tuesday and participated in throwing drills. Many were concerned that Stroud might have received surgery in the offseason, and that was keeping him from throwing at voluntary OTAs last week. But Stroud put that narrative to bed, denying any offseason surgery.
Stroud told the media that he's been working on getting his body right this offseason, focusing on, among other things, lowering his body fat, improving his hip flexibility, and gaining speed.
CJ implied that the extra training this offseason might have been a factor in the soreness that kept him from throwing last week, but that should be expected. Pushing your body can sometimes lead to soreness, but it's not anything to be worried about.
He also said he had been throwing prior to minicamp on Tuesday, but this is the first time the media has been around to witness it.
Thoughts on the new system
CJ had positive things to say about the Texans' new OC Nick Caley. He pointed out that he cares more about the "person" than the system. He likes the energy from his new OC, even saying Caley calls him frequently, but doesn't always answer because Caley is “always yelling.”
Stroud also confirmed that the new offense allows him to have more control at the line of scrimmage, something we heard he was wanting last season.
Caley and CJ have watched old videos from 2003 and 2004 of Tom Brady working with Josh McDaniels. They believe this will help Stroud learn how to take “ownership” of the protections.
You can watch the full interview in the video below.
So what else happened at mandatory minicamp?
Newly signed running back Nick Chubb participated in drills. Head coach DeMeco Ryans credited GM Nick Caserio with signing the four-time Pro Bowler.
Nick Chubb takes the handoff in first #Texans practice @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/P4X9NGXB4B
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) June 10, 2025
How did the receivers look?
The big play of the day came from 2nd round receiver Jayden Higgins, who caught this pass from Stroud against Kamari Lassister. This looks like a connection the Texans will count on for years to come.
🎯🎯🎯 pic.twitter.com/4wLhMtduBd
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) June 10, 2025
3rd rounder Jaylin Noel was in attendance but didn't participate.
Nico Collins and Stroud appear to be in midseason form.
Nico Collins showin’ ‘em how it’s done. #MiniCamp #Texans pic.twitter.com/Ir4qrGsL15
— Adam Wexler (@AdamJWexler) June 10, 2025
Anything new with the offensive line?
Not really. The Texans lineup up from left to right with Cam Robinson, Laken Tomlinson, Jake Andrews, Tytus Howard, and Blake Fisher. Later on, rookie Aireontae Ersery got some work in at left tackle.
Current #Texans O-Line combination protecting Stroud: LT Airenontae Ersery, LG Laken Tomlinson, C Jake Andrews, RG Tytus Howard, RT Blake Fisher.
— Jonathan M Alexander (@jonmalexander) June 10, 2025
The Texans will wrap up minicamp Wednesday, and we'll keep you in the loop with any further developments.