Artist Melanie Parent was afraid to step out of her front door, afraid to see what lay beyond her driveway, what was happening down her road.  She struggled with fear and anxiety and barely left her house for several years.  Her husband gave her a camera, and with it came the courage to use her Art to reframe the world of her Northwest Louisiana home in a way that she hopes will help others see this part of the world differently—warmer and more honestly.  On Thursday, July 12, 2018 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM, Parent invites you to muster the courage to step in to distant places nearer your Northwest Louisiana Home—abandoned farm houses, forgotten front porches, snow in the deep ruts of a field, even empty grocery store aisles—and join her at ARTSPACE at 708 Texas St. in downtown Shreveport for the opening of, A Distance Nearer Home.