Painting by a MXA Student

For those of you who are new to Brush Fire, I’m delighted to welcome you into our community of folks who are interested in creative process, youth development, art as a tool for healing and social justice, and a powerful medium for making our voices heard! How does one art program appeal to so many different interests? By focusing on the process of authentic creative expression rather than technique. In doing so, we help unleash the power of creativity in a way few other art programs do.

In my role as workshop facilitator, I really consider myself more of a midwife than a teacher. I encourage my students to stretch their creative muscles, but I do not teach them how to be creative. We are all born with limitless creative capacity, so we don’t need to be taught it anyway.

We do sometimes need help in overcoming the things that shut our creativity down. That’s where Brush Fire enters. The blocks are put there by parents and teachers, communities and society. Sometimes the blocks have been so internalized, it seems like the student herself put them in the way. It is always amazing when a student responds to the Brush Fire method and blossoms into his or her creative potential. The first moment a student recognizes him/herself as a joyful creative being is breathtaking.

Another amazing thing about Brush Fire is that I keep learning from my students. I am constantly amazed by the limitless possibilities afforded by a palette of paint and a blank piece of paper. As soon as I think I’ve seen all the paintings there are to see, I am taken aback by a pure creative gesture that rocks me to my very core. I am equally astonished at the depth of resiliency I see among my students. In spite of poverty, or violence, or incarceration, even the most hardened student is able to shine with the pure light of creativity.

The stories I gather in every class have really expanded my understanding of what it means to be human –­ how with the right combination of acceptance of who we are and challenge to become even more of who we can be, can inspire us to reach heights we never dreamed of. It is these stories I want to share on this blog. Enjoy!