Many across the Arab world use the fully ripened fruit of the luffa genus of vegetables, of the cucumber family, as a soap sponge. But more than a decade ago, retired copywriter and editor Ibrahim Alfar, of Amman, Jordan, began exploring the application of luffa in other ways.

Lance G. Newman II, aka Mr. SpreadLove, of Louisville, Ky., is a self-described renaissance man—and he has the quality, diversified artistic product to back up that assessment. But as his moniker indicates, Mr. SpreadLove is committed to more than simply dispersing his art among the masses; he is devoted to passing on a living legacy of spreading positivity and love through poetry (as well as other art forms), education, and the nurture of the next generation—all in the hope of affecting lasting change.