A chat with Goldie Gross, Nathanael Myers, Kelli Ryan, Joel Silverstein, and Joshua Cave about their processes and their faith.

Drinks:

Perfect Daiquiri, Old Fashioned, Caribeno, Rum + Coconut Water, Rum + Soda Water, Whiskey on the Rocks

Jamali Corniel is a lower Manhattan native who loves the gift of storytelling through the mediums of dance, song, acting, and painting. She has served as the Artistic Director of the Herbert H. Dance Company at Lehman College and the Co-Artistic Director/Choreographer for Price of Silence, a performing arts collective. Man With a Hat and a Tan, a solo, one act play, written and performed by Corniel, produced and directed by Dante Albertie, earned her a BRIO award in 2013. For over 20 years, Corniel dedicated her time to working with NYC youth and now works at Expect Hope, a Christ-centered residential program for expectant women, where she serves as the Program Director and teaches Creative Healing classes.

“My heart's desire is to share the love of Jesus through the gift of art. In art, there is hope. It is an outlet for so many, and all should be given the opportunity to experience it. Through my own journey, experiences, and/or the experiences of others, I want to engage individuals in a way they are able to connect and be encouraged by His Word.”

Rooted in NYC, formerly planted in New England, and occasionally found digging into new soil. The story has always been learning to grow where you are planted.

My name is Michelle and I love what I do. Pretty simple. I find great joy and purpose in bringing ideas to life, especially ones you can devour! From carefully crafted  desserts to a harmonious service, there's room for inspiration in every detail. Along with technical skills and discipline, I've come to deeply appreciate the special community I've entered. I am blessed to call my industry mentors & colleagues now family. Humility lesson #1 is to acknowledge there's nothing greater than teamwork. This is why I'd rather share my love for what I do over elaborating my resume in story-form (besides, you can scroll down for that). Thank you to everyone who's walked with me, and hello to any new sojourners. Welcome to the beautiful chaos, my name is Michelle Chen.

*All proceeds made at It Is Good will be in support of Heart of Dinner. *

@hososproject, michellezchen.com

Kristalyn Gill, a North Carolina native, graduated from East Carolina University’s Honors College on full academic scholarship with dual degrees in Dance Performance (BFA) and Interpersonal/Organizational Communication (BS). She is a professional dancer, slam poet, published author, choreographer, communication specialist, and educator.

As a dancer, Kristalyn has performed in original works by Yin Yue, Menghan Lou, Joseph Hernandez, Kristen Céré, Mark Haim, Franco Nieto, and Andrea Ward in addition to nationally touring her own work at festivals in Philadelphia, PA and Chicago, IL. She has studiously trained with creators such as Victor Quijada, Diana Matos, Galen Hooks, Micaela Taylor, Sarah Slipper, Glen Edgerton, Andrea Miller, Yin Yue, Sidra Bell, Bo Park, Hélène Blackburn, Olivier Wevers, Lillian Barbeito, Cat Rendic, Theresa Stone, Caetlyn Watson, and Candace Brown.

Kristalyn currently lives in New York City where she is currently a company artist with Yin Yue Dance Company (Yin Yue), SHINSA the Collective (Bo Park), cloude.nyc (Emily Greenwell), Channel:Dig (Sarah Richman), and Open_Space (Franco Nieto). She was honored to be the 2021 Fall Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts Resident Poetry Fellow. Kristalyn's newest poetry collection, "The Shape of You," will be released for international distribution in June 2022 by Free Lines Press.

@kristalyngill, kristalyngill.com

Mission: Making healthy food accessible to Greenpointers and cultivating community within our neighborhood.

Vision: The go-to healthy lunch spot that enables our community to support local farmers and the financially disadvantaged.

Values: Love your neighbor, Sustainability, Uplift, Respect & Nourishment

Salads:

Miso Bowl: Spring mix, rice, pickled radish, scallion, roasted broccoli, sesame seeds, toasted pumpkin seeds, roasted sesame tofu, miso sesame ginger dressing

Caesar Bowl: Kale, onion, tomato, croutons, shaved parmesan, parmesan crisps, caesar dressing (no chicken)

Odane Whilby is a singer-songwriter from New Rochelle, NY but based in the Bronx, NY. His sound is a soulful blend of gospel music, alternative and pop rock. Odane is a Jesus Christ follower and believer, husband, father and founder of theOLOGY a Christian Artist platform and community that has featured gifted, grammy nominated and winning artists over the past 8 years. He also is a teaching artist. Odane goal whether through music other means is to spread hope.

@o_will_be

Coffee and Cold Brew:

Gold Brew, Spiced Nola

Sweets:

Kitchen Sink Cookie, Salted Double Chocolate Cookie, White Chocolate Butterscotch with Miso Cookie

Visual Artists:

Yona Verwer, Sam Stone, Joshua Cave, Amanda Iglesias, J. Hayden, William Brenner, Joel Silverstein, Kelli Ryan, Peter Middleton, Nathanael Myers, Laura Leigh Turner, Goldie Gross, Hannah Robinett

Image: Hannah Robinett