A thing that gets broken can be even more amazing when put into a new vision. Ceramics are certainly fun, interesting as they’ve been made to be but take on another vibrancy as a mosaic.

Have you see the Watts Towers? People usually keep their ceramic items if they carry meaning or donate them for someone else to enjoy but broken ceramics- they often find their way to…the trash.
If something you love breaks- rethink it, then turn it into something that can last, a stepping stone, a fancy mosaic frame or.. art right in your own backyard.

Last week I hosted a Spring Break Sampler Camp at the Agoura Hills Rec Center. The kids and I had a great week creating together. We had projects to explore like CD Spinners, Egg Carton Animal Portraits and Cardboard Houses and of course, open-ended art which always takes top billing.
Riley summed up our week with the highest compliment of all when she said, ” I like this art camp the best, we don’t have to make stuff”. I knew just what she meant- everything is there to explore, they did what they liked, each of them. There were collaborations, solo creations, and drawing competitions. There were as many ways to go as there were kids to make. A gaggle of kids inspired one another to make fuzzy cats and squirrels from an old scrap of cozy material. Creativity is an infinite source when in the hands of a child.
I look forward to a fun-filled summer with all my camps where we’ll create again! Check out my camp line-up here.

As of March 6, CReATE STUDIO is 15 years old.
Thinking back, I smile at the varied iterations of the studio, all the wonderful families I have met and gotten to know. I beam at the thought of the kids who have created with me since 2009.

I am proud of what I’ve created, this space to express ones own ideas and imaginings through the reuse of recycled materials. Mixing recycling and reusing with creativity. It’s a natural partnership and yet a unique to approach to art. As a child of the 70’s, this was how I have experienced art myself-ever teetering on the verge of play.

Saying yes to kid ideas and queries is empowering for them. Encouraging parents to say yes to kid ideas is success for all of us. Here’s to many more years of creating to come. I can’t wait.

Happy Birthday CReATE!

-Jemma

Happy New Year!

Here’s to good cheer, creativity and prosperity for all!
As author Julia Cameron says in The Artist’s Way‘s Basic Principles; “Creativity is the natural order of life. Life is energy: pure creative energy.” May we all connect with that part of ourselves as we meet our daily to-do’s and experiences.
Let’s create in 2024!