About

At the Petaluma Art House, we foster the painter’s unique creative voice by honoring their own timing and pace, teaching them how to follow their intuitive instincts and offering them ways to explore and take risks, without fear of judgment or comments. We believe that creativity is a process. It is dynamic and alive. It moves through many cycles, seasons, ups and downs. And like all living things, it must be thoughtfully tended, given plenty of space to grow, and time to develop at it’s own pace. It’s needs are simple: a clean work space, good-quality materials and permission to explore one’s own intuitive interests. Cultivating creative freedom happens over time, and over many many paintings. You would never expect you or your child to play Mozart at the end of your first piano lesson, nor be a soccer-star at the end of the first practice. Neither should you expect you or your child, to be a master painter after one session. I have been painting for 10 years in this fashion and continue to be delighted and surprised by the adventure it offers me with each stroke of the brush. For in the world of process-painting nothing is off-limits.

I believe that it is the most natural thing in the world for people to paint. However, I have discovered that there is very little space created for us to do so in a free and spontaneous way. For the most part, if art is taught in schools, it is product-based and geared towards pleasing parents and supporting curriculum, rather than nurturing creative freedom and authentic self-expression. Beyond the classroom, many after-school art programs go further in offering instruction on technique, teach art history, offer “painting like Picasso” and promise that your child will “finish a project” at the end of a session, but where is the creative freedom and intuitive development? The truth is, Picasso would kill to paint like your kid. Your kid is a master. For him or her, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. A tree can be purple, a beaver throws snowballs, and your arms can be 3 times as big as your body! As for technique, it will develop spontaneously through the child’s own exploration and development, as needed. It is important to acknowledge that we are all learning to trust the process of our creative unfolding and not judge our children or ourselves _____ (worthy, talented, artistic, etc) based on the product produced. Leaving room for the mystery and the unexpected, gives our work life, and offers us the opportunity to experience the joy of spontaneous self-expression and the miracle of self-discovery.

That is why this studio is unique. At the Petaluma Art House the emphasis is on the creative process of painting and not on the painting as a product. The magic happens during the painting process and is cumulative over time… and over many paintings. Therefore, in order to nurture creative freedom for all our painters, we encourage the painters (and their friends & family) to refrain from making comments about the paintings or “interpreting” their work. Even a well-meaning comment can stop us in our creative tracks! So, in order to support the creative process, paintings will be kept in the studio until the end of the class series and we ask that parents do not “peek” into the studio during the term. At the end of each term, the painters will have an opportunity to “show” their work, if they choose to, in a group show/share. This is a very special event and is a time for parents, siblings and friends to share, celebrate and acknowledge their painter’s creative journey.