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Words like “heartwarming,” “endearing,” and “inspirational” sometimes make me wanna ralph, but I’m not embarassed to say that those words describe the feelings this video instills within me. From the filmmakers behind the acclaimed documentary Beautiful Losers, this awesome short film about an art workshop Jesse Spears hosted for some local high school kids makes me wanna go out into the world and encourage people to become artists.
Jesse teaches art the way it should be taught, fully embracing the limitless possibilities of creativity with just the right dose of anarchy and indiscriminate positive affirmation. Maybe I’m just a complete hippy, but I do believe in the value of each individual’s uncensored self-expression. I think the goal of art education should be a therapeutic one: to lead the student to a place where they feel completely comfortable with the work that they’re making. As long as you’re genuinely happy with what you’re doing, there are going to be at least a few other people out there who feel the same way about your work, and then you’ve affected some sort of positive change in the world.
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awesome
Thank you for introducing me to Jesse Spears. What a treat.
Another organization that shares the same philosophy of art as therapeutic and encouraging people to not self-censor their art is A Window Between Worlds (awbw.org), a nonprofit that develops art workshops used in domestic violence shelters all over the country. I’ve interned there and continue to volunteer with them whenever I get a chance to go back to LA, and the way they’ve been able to help survivors express, come to terms, and move beyond with their horrible experiences through art is simply amazing.
This is awesome. I love.