"Painting makes me happy!" 1st grader, Rosa Parks Elementary School

Thanks to our supporters (that’s you!) Brush Fire had a big, beautiful 2009 – reaching a record number of kids with our innovative, process-based art programs, creating new partnerships with San Mateo Juvenile Hall, Camp Kemp and 10 new schools in San Francisco, all the while providing opportunities for underserved youth express their deepest fears and desires in living color.

We are so grateful for your on-going support. With your end-of-year donation we can keep up this beautiful momentum and continue to help youth value themselves as strong, creative members of our community with valuable things to say.

I like painting because it's a great way to relieve stress. I love to express myself even though I"m different." 9th grader, Mission High School

To make a secure online donation using your credit card, please visit the website of our fiscal sponsor, Intersection for the Arts, at www.theintersecton.org. Click on ‘make a donation,’ then scroll down and hit the purple ‘donate now’ button. Fill out the donation form and select Brush Fire Painting from the drop-down menu under “where would you like to direct your donation? Every donation, regardless of size, helps us fulfill our mission.

From all of us at Brush Fire Painting Workshops, thanks in advance for your generosity!

We were beyond thrilled to bring Brush Fire Panting Workshops to Camp Kemp, just down the hill from San Mateo Youth Services Center.

Opened in the fall of 2006, the Margaret J. Kemp Camp for Girls houses young women of San Mateo County between the ages of 13 and 18 who are facing current criminal charges and suffering from substance abuse and mental health problems.

Here is a sample of the work the girls did during our 8-week workshop:

My painting is about my lovely planned future. My favorite parts are the marriage ring, because I would love to get married and have a baby someday, and my planned house because it is exactly how I want it in the future. I also like the money because I know how I want to spend it (wisely). I like that it is so detailed. I am a very optimistic person and I have my life planned for the future. ~Marilyn

This painting is about how everything in my life is black and white and that I feel like my life is fading. The colors express my feelings: sad, confused, and anxious. This picture says I that I’m growing up. But half my teenage years I’ve been on probation for all the times I’ve missed by being locked up, which makes me feel I lost a lot that I could have been out doing. I’ma be 18. I don’t have time for kid s*** no more. ~Raquel

I went on a pass with my mom this week and we got along really well. I felt really happy and loved. I got closer to my mom and I have mixed emotions because this week is my dad’s death anniversary, so it’s weird because I’m happy when I should be feeling sad. The colors in separate places represent different emotions. The spirals represent confusion and the colors coming together show the emotions coming together. ~Natalie

For more paintings done at Camp Kemp, please go to Brush Fire’s facebook page by clicking on the facebook button at the top of this page. While you are there, please become a fan to get regular updates!