On occasion, she delivered orders to what she suspected may have been crack houses. "You go back a week later and it's been busted," s​he said.

Many of the themes they requested were violent and macabre. In 1995, she decided on a strict rule about her airbrush designs: No gangster violence.

One of the first suggested shirt designs she turned down was a woman who wanted Minnie Mouse holding a 9 millimeter Glock pistol, pointed at the head of Mickey Mouse, on his knees, begging for his life.

Underneath, it would have said, "I had to pop him."

She wrote a statement of faith that she now uses as a guide in her work. She has it painted on the wall of her studio in a storefront across from the Red Lobster in the Village East shopping center.

"There's a culture the church is battling against; she helps the church enter that culture," said the Rev. Doug Taylor, pastor of Rebirth Christian Fellowship in Roebuck, where Bryant leads the youth ministry. "She really tears down that barrier. There are young people whose lives were changed by airbrush. She has really captured the heart of that generation."

Bryant still has rappers for clients, but now they are gospel rappers who perform in churches. "We probably have at least 20 gospel hip-hop artists in this city," she said.

Bryant frequently does fashion shows at churches, with models walking down a runway to show off designs such as stylized crosses on suits. She often takes a microphone and preaches during the fashion shows.

"I'm a minister in training at my church," Bryant said.

Bryant has done team shirts for youth choirs, along with what she views as healthy secular designs for such things as batting helmets for youth baseball players or theme caps for men's groups.

"It makes the clothing unique, especially when they come up with their own designs," said Fatima Hicks, a customer from Trussville. "People kept taking my daughter's bookbag by accident at school. So I had her put a design on it with her name on it. Nobody takes it now."

Many of the shirts Bryant has on sale in the store feature inspirational symbols that often prompt questions and lead to discussions of faith, Bryant said. "People have gotten saved asking about shirts, wanting to know the message behind it," she said.

E-mail: ggarrison@bhamnews.com