Can making art change our communities? We know in our bones that it does, but articulating how can be challenging. How can creativity promote social justice? Consider this:

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality,” wrote Buckminster Fuller. “To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

Socrates said something similar: “The secret of change is to focus your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”

Do you think art can be an agent for social change?

We’d like to give a shout out to Habitot Children’s Museum, the East Bay’s award-winning hands-on discovery museum for young children.

Habitot’s Guide to Nurturing Creativity includes many of Brush Fire’s foundation ideas, which are applicable to any adult participation in art activities with children and youth of all ages. Here’s an excerpt from the Guide:

Avoid Surveillance: Being creative takes time and privacy. Don’t hover – it’s ok to walk away and come back, or do a little art on your own. Children will enjoy the “parallel play.” Try to restrain yourself in your supervision; step in only when someone might be hurt. Nothing limits creativity like an adult being overly concerned about making a mess or “not doing it right.”

Relinquish Control: Try not to be too involved in the child’s art making. You may make her feel that the art is not really hers. Accept the artwork as it is, “mistakes” and all. Appreciate that how a child draws is necessary for his development.

Limit Evaluation: When you look at the artwork, do not ask, “What is that?” This puts the child on the defensive, especially because she may not know what it is. “Tell me about it” elicits communication from the child and will build trust. You may discover your child has a detailed description of the piece. Be delighted and interested! Avoid judgments such as, “That looks like an elephant,” which will disappoint the child greatly if he was drawing a castle.

Squelch Competition: Try not to comment on artwork in a way that promotes comparison among children or against the adult standard of what something “should” look like. Treasure each work of art for its unique expression of self.

Modify Praise: Praise often backfires, particularly when it involves approval of the final product. Praise the effort instead: “You worked really hard on this!” Avoid general praise. Your child will devalue your praise over time and will certainly notice if you fail to praise on occasion.

Habitot’s mission is to nurture and enrich the lives of young children, their families, and the adults who care for them by providing an environment for early childhood learning and exploration, parenting education and community outreach. For more information, please click here.

Thanks to out friends at the Togetherville Blog for this post:

The No Name Calling Week campaign kicks off today!

Since 2004, No Name Calling Week (launched by the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network and Simon and Schuster Publishing) has been  providing anti-bullying resources to schools and youth-serving organizations.

A hallmark of the No Name Calling Week campaign is the annual Creative Expression Contest for students in grades K-12. Art is an excellent medium for exploring a topic as personal and painful as bullying. Art is also, ironically, one of the ways kids can be vulnerable to teasing and name-calling. One of our favorite creative tools for kids is Scratch, a website designed by the MIT Media Lab, where kids can “create and share interactive stories, games, music and art.”

Alexander, a Togetherville kiddo, spent an afternoon with his grandma creating his very own game on Scratch. Jessica, Alexander’s mom, spent some time on Scratch after seeing his proud creation, checking out the other creations and comments. She found that a lot of kids write disclaimers underneath their artwork. “I did this really quick, while my mom was at the store. Please don’t make fun of it!” or “Please don’t diss my game, it was my first try!!”

Kids are creators, and now they have a global audience of peers to critique their work. So, the kids have to either beg for their work to not be torn apart, the kids feel the need to bring themselves down before someone else does. As if to say, “I know you’re going to tease me, so I’m beating you to it so it doesn’t hurt as much.”

Even a 20-second stop-action Lego video on YouTube takes hours of work but kids feel the need to downplay their creativity, “My camera was bad so it’s not very good” or “This is my first video about a new worker at the zoo, I know it sucks.” When a kid puts him or herself “out there”, they’re open to potentially hurtful critique. But they create anyway. That’s why we want you to challenge your kids this week – and every week – to comment with care. Show them how to use constructive, not cruel, language when responding to someone else’s creative expression.

For the entire post on the Togetherville Blog, including Lego Video, click here.

For more information about the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, click here

Today I am reflecting on the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and how his work shapes my thinking about Brush Fire as a tool for social justice. Dr. King said, “Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.” I feel the truth of this quote in my heart. We all benefit from exposure to a multitude of perspectives, be they political, artistic, or religious. And we all become stronger when our thoughts and feelings are respected in the public sphere.

Unfortunately, many of Brush Fire’s students experience numerous socio-economic barriers that impede success. They experience higher levels of poverty, violence, pregnancy, and high-school dropout rates. Our black and Latino students are three times more likely than white students to attend a “dropout factory”—a school with graduation rates of 60% or less. As dropout rates rise, so does the potential for our students to engage in crime and live in poverty as adults. Being incarcerated at a higher proportion, the voices of people of color are effectively removed from the public sphere and we all are poorer as a result.

These staggering statistics demonstrate the crucial need for our students to engage in activities that develop resilience. Resilience is a compilation of personal strengths, such as self-esteem, a sense of purpose, and a sense of belonging, that help young people combat risk factors and adapt positively to negative environmental influences. They also need activities that engage their interests, boost learning, and support overall healthy youth development.

Brush Fire aims to shore up our students’ resilience by helping them develop social competencies, such as self-esteem, self-control, collaboration, and empathy, that will keep them out of jail and participating in our communities. It is my sincere hope that the more they trust their creativity as they paint, the more they trust their creativity when they are out in the world, giving us all the gift of their unique perspective and the fruits of their action in the world.

click here to watch an artist at work, inspired by Dr. King’s famous speech.

"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!

"I am thankful for all the food my family gets to eat this Thanksgiving. The yellow circles are the happy plates. The blue lines make the turkey look like it is floating in air, but they are the good smells. The black rectangles are all the kitchens that the turkey will be in."

This week, Brush Fire’s topic for paintings is What are you thankful for? We’ve had a wonderful array of responses, from holiday dinners, to love of family and friends. One young painter said she is particularly happy for some time off to do her own thing.

We all need that down time in order to nurture our creativity, but isn’t down time hard to come by with all the obligations of the holiday season? Edward Unger provides some great tips to prevent any type of creative hindrance so you can keep moving forward:

1) Comparison – If we’re too busy looking at what the next person has, we can forget to be thankful for what we have. There’s always going to be someone who has more and someone who has less than us. But what makes your life special and unique to you and only you? Be thankful for those things…

2) Attitude of Entitlement – Lots of times we can believe that we deserve this or that and as Americans it easy for us to slip into being ungrateful for what we have. The reality is…there are billions of people in the world that don’t have clean running water, safe grocery stores or a government that doesn’t steal from them. If you’ve ever done some traveling to 3rd world countries you’d be truly grateful to be an American. Lets allow this season to permeate every area of our lives…and truly give thanks for the bare necessities that we all can take for granted.

3) Think about What You’re Thinking About – Anyone who’s worried all day long knows how to meditate. So what have you been meditating on lately? Are you keeping your mind on positive things as soon as you get out of bed…and throughout the day? Or are you sabotaging yourself with your own negative thoughts? Think about what you’re thinking about…and maybe just for this week…turn your negative thought around to thanksgiving and see how much better you feel.

4) Relationships – In my opinion, good relationships are the true meaning of life. Relationships make or break the holiday season. Focus on bringing new life and love into your relationships this Thanksgiving. Surprise that special someone with flowers or jewelry…bring your mom a sweet potato pie. We can’t go through life with catcher’s mitts on both hands. You’ve gotta be able to throw something back once in a while.

5) Watch Your Mouth: – The Hebrew word for Thanksgiving is Yadah…as in, yada, yada, yada. So what do you hear yourself speaking about? Do you gripe and complain to anyone who will listen or are you talking to people about what you are thankful for? Maybe over turkey dinner this year you can go around the table and ask everyone to list 5 things they are thankful for.

Find the original post at http://www.computerproducer.com/unblocking-creativity-during-thanksgiving/

And have a restful, creative holiday!

"People locked up the animals..."

J. is a soft-spoken 3rd grader at Malcolm X Academy with liquid brown eyes, round cheeks and a beautiful smile. He’s a serious, thoughtful boy, who gives a lot of attention to his paintings, so I looked forward to seeing what his painting would look like on the day’s topic: if you could be any type of animal, what would you be? He grew restless and agitated during the brainstorming portion of our last class, which surprised me, but he didn’t let his bad mood stop him.

Instead of picking one animal to represent himself, he painted square cages across most of his painting, with a dog and a lion standing outside. He told me that people had locked most of the animals in cages. When I asked him about the dog and the lion, J. said they weren’t caged yet, but they were about to fight each other because the people who caged the animals made them. He said it wasn’t possible for them to disobey; they had to fight even though they didn’t want to. Across the page, J wrote: Jail. I’m ready.

It seems clear to me that this is what his future looks like to him. I’m just heartbroken. We have to do better for sweet, beautiful children like J. What can we do to give them hope for the future?

Amanda talks with a student about his painting.

Last week’s guest blogger was Mark Farley, volunteer at Malcolm X Academy. This week, Amanda, another Malcolm X volunteer, shares her experience painting with the kids.

One of my favorite parts of volunteering with Brush Fire was seeing how the kids’ personalities always came through in their distinctive painting styles. I see this as a testament to the success of Brush Fire’s process-not-product focus: rather than competing to produce the result that fit a teacher’s expectation, the kids seemed free to explore their own ideas and techniques.

It was especially exciting to watch kids who were originally unenthusiastic or lacking in confidence discover that painting can be really satisfying. I remember watching something click in one fifth grader, who was sullen and skeptical the first day I volunteered, when she realized that painting an explosive, angry tornado to depict her bad day helped her release those negative emotions. She came in to class bitter and silent and left giggling, and the next week she came in excited to get her “anger management out.”

When I started volunteering with Brush Fire Painting Workshops I had just began a new chapter in my life. I had ended a four-year relationship with my first real love and was one of the many that could not find work. Needless to say, I had a lot of time on my hands. What drew me to Brush Fire was its process-oriented approach. As a visual artist in the limbo period of life after art school, the only work I enjoyed making was processed based.

Wishing I possessed that freedom of a child, I realized a blank piece of paper scared, angered, and frustrated me. I did not see that lack of confidence in the kid’s faces during my first kindergarten class at Malcolm X. Academy. I witnessed them paining large and small brush strokes and expressive hearts, rainbows and everything in between. As assistants, we followed Naomi’s incredible lead and helped in any way we could. Having had very little experience with kids before Brush Fire I was surprised how easy it was to fall in love with these kids. Each one was unique, smart, silly and loving.

We tried to leave what ever was going on in our lives at the steps of Mission High School, where Naomi would pick us up before driving to Malcolm X. The young painters, try as they might, could not always leave their pain, and anger out of the classroom. R was one of the most expressive students in the class. She had so much energy and excitement for painting that her whole body would shake when she smiled. R had a very soft voice but always had a lot to say about her colorful work. When I asked about her painting one day she explained how the colorful shapes were “candy” with a huge smile. I asked her to explain a part of the painting that was a mixture of browns and grays. She replied, “That’s my house and the guy that was shoot in front of my door.” It broke my heart to know she had witnessed such horror. I could only hope she was safe and let myself be reassured by Naomi that her sister’s and brothers were good kids who protected her.

My experience with Brush Fire changed my life and gave me hope in the healing power of the Arts. This class forced me out of my bed of depression and onto a path of helping others as well as myself. This fall I have started my masters in Expressive Arts Therapy. I would like to thank Naomi and the kindergarten class at MXA for everything they have taught me.

Brush Fire Painting Workshops needs volunteer help with classes, special events, PR, Marketing, fundraising and more. If you are interested in volunteering with Brush Fire please send an email to Naomi@PaintBrushFire.org detailing your interests and experience.